Steucke, KE; Win, Z; Stemler, TR; Walsh, EE; Hall, JL; Alford, PW; (2017) Empirically Determined Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Mechano-Adaptation Law. Journal of Biomechanical Engineering , 139 (7) , Article 071005. 10.1115/1.4036454.

Text Win_bio_139_07_071005.pdf - Published Version Access restricted to UCL open access staff Download (2MB)

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease can alter the mechanical environment of the vascular system, leading to mechano-adaptive growth and remodeling. Predictive models of arterial mechano-adaptation could improve patient treatments and outcomes in cardiovascular disease. Vessel-scale mechano-adaptation includes remodeling of both the cells and extracellular matrix. Here, we aimed to experimentally measure and characterize a phenomenological mechano-adaptation law for vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) within an artery. To do this, we developed a highly controlled and reproducible system for applying a chronic step-change in strain to individual VSMCs with in vivo like architecture and tracked the temporal cellular stress evolution. We found that a simple linear growth law was able to capture the dynamic stress evolution of VSMCs in response to this mechanical perturbation. These results provide an initial framework for development of clinically relevant models of vascular remodeling that include VSMC adaptation.

Download activity - last month

Export as CSVXMLJSON

Download activity - last 12 months

Export as XMLCSVJSON

Downloads by country - last 12 months

Export as JSONCSVXML

Archive Staff Only

View Item