Paclitaxel-coated expanded polytetrafluoroethylene haemodialysis grafts inhibit neointimal hyperplasia in porcine model of graft stenosis.

BACKGROUND The main pathology of haemodialysis graft stenosis is venous neointimal hyperplasia at graft-venous anastomoses. Neointimal hyperplasia is also observed in cases of coronary artery in-stent restenosis. Paclitaxel is a chemotherapeutic agent used to treat cancer, and has been proven to inhibit neointimal hyperplasia of coronary artery in-stent restenosis. In this study, we examined whether a paclitaxel-coated haemodialysis graft could inhibit neointimal hyperplasia and prevent stenosis. METHODS We dip-coated paclitaxel on expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) grafts at a dose density of 0.59 microg/mm(2). In vitro release tests showed an initial paclitaxel burst followed by a long-term slow release. Using ePTFE grafts with (coated group, n = 8) or without a paclitaxel coating (control group, n = 11), we constructed arteriovenous (AV) grafts connecting the common carotid artery and the external jugular vein in Landrace pigs. RESULTS After excluding seven pigs for technical failure, cross-sections of graft-venous anastomoses obtained 6 weeks after placing the AV grafts were analysed. Percentage luminal stenosis, ratios of intima to media in whole cross-sections, areas of intima in the peri-junctional areas (within 2 mm above and 2 mm below the graft-venous junction), and the mean thickness of intima within venous sides of cross-sections, were 60.5% (range, 41.5-60.7), 13.0 (range, 8.6-20.4), 23.7 mm(2) (range, 10.8-32.1) and 2.1 mm (range, 1.1-3.0), respectively, in the control group, whereas corresponding median values in the coated group were 10.4% (range, 1.0-17.8), 1.0 (range, 0.7-5.1), 1.6 mm(2) (range, 0.2-8.0) and 0.3 mm (range, 0.1-2.2). All parameters were significantly different between the two groups (P<0.05 by Mann-Whitney test). CONCLUSION Paclitaxel-coated ePTFE grafts could prevent neointimal hyperplasia and the stenosis of AV haemodialysis grafts.