Origin of axial prestretch and residual stress in arteries

Abstract

The structural protein elastin endows large arteries with unique biological functionality and mechanical integrity, hence its disorganization, fragmentation, or degradation can have important consequences on the progression and treatment of vascular diseases. There is, therefore, a need in arterial mechanics to move from materially uniform, phenomenological, constitutive relations for the wall to those that account for separate contributions of the primary structural constituents: elastin, fibrillar collagens, smooth muscle, and amorphous matrix. In this paper, we employ a recently proposed constrained mixture model of the arterial wall and show that prestretched elastin contributes significantly to both the retraction of arteries that is observed upon transection and the opening angle that follows the introduction of a radial cut in an unloaded segment. We also show that the transmural distributions of elastin and collagen, compressive stiffness of collagen, and smooth muscle tone play complementary roles. Axial prestresses and residual stresses in arteries contribute to the homeostatic state of stress in vivo as well as adaptations to perturbed loads, disease, or injury. Understanding better the development of and changes in wall stress due to individual extracellular matrix constituents thus promises to provide considerable clinically important insight into arterial health and disease.

Constitutive modelling of arteries

“…Based on a constrained mixture model the influence of elastin, collagen and smooth muscle cell contributions to residual stresses of artery walls has been analysed in a recent theoretical paper by Cardamone et al (2009), while an initial analysis of three-dimensional residual stresses in a layered artery was recently documented by Holzapfel & Ogden (2010).…”

Beyond Burst Pressure: Initial Evaluation of the Natural History of the Biaxial Mechanical Properties of Tissue-Engineered Vascular Grafts in the Venous Circulation Using a Murine Model

“…[7][8][9][10] There is a growing literature highlighting the importance of mechanobiological principles on vascular physiology and pathophysiology. [11][12][13][14][15] For example, compliance mismatch between a vascular graft and the native vessel into which it is implanted has been demonstrated to be a critical factor, leading at times to the formation of neointimal hyperplasia and stenosis. 16,17 The biomechanical properties of a TEVG are determined primarily by the sum of the mechanical properties of the scaffold and the biomechanical properties of the ECM.…”

Focused Arterial Anastomotic Assessment in a Novel Univariate Design of a Vertical Rectus Abdominis Muscle Flap in a Pig Model

“…Raising a free flap and placing it back in its original position may be insufficient; the vascular pedicle has been shown to retract, and thus when attempting an anastomosis, it is likely that this will be under additional tension and therefore suboptimal. [15][16][17] When developing a new technique for arterial anastomosis, it would be ideal if all other parameters could be controlled; however, this is seldom possible.…”