Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) acutely disturbs the homeostatic state of the transplanted vessel making retention of graft patency dependent on chronic remodeling processes. The time course and extent to which remodeling restores vessel homeostasis will depend, in part, on the nature and magnitude of the mechanical disturbances induced upon transplantation. In this investigation, biaxial mechanical testing and histology were performed on the porcine left anterior descending artery (LAD) and analogs of common autografts, including the internal thoracic artery (ITA), radial artery (RA), great saphenous vein (GSV) and lateral saphenous vein (LSV). Experimental data were used to quantify the parameters of a structure-based constitutive model enabling prediction of the acute vessel mechanical response pre-transplantation and under coronary loading conditions. A novel metric Ξ was developed to quantify mechanical differences between each graft vessel in situ and the LAD in situ, while a second metric Ω compares the graft vessels in situ to their state under coronary loading. The relative values of these metrics among candidate autograft sources are consistent with vessel-specific variations in CABG clinical success rates with the ITA as the superior and GSV the inferior graft choices based on mechanical performance. This approach can be used to evaluate other candidate tissues for grafting or to aid in the development of synthetic and tissue engineered alternatives.

The prevalence of diverse animal models as surrogates for human vascular pathologies necessitate a comprehensive understanding of the differences that exist between species. Comparative passive mechanics are presented here for the common carotid arteries taken from bovine, porcine, ovine, leporine, murine-rat, and murine-mouse specimens. Data is generated using a scalable biaxial mechanical testing device following consistent circumferential (pressure-diameter) and axial (force-length) testing protocols. The structural mechanical response of carotids under equivalent loading, quantified by the deformed inner radius, deformed wall thickness, lumen area compliance and axial force, varies significantly among species but generally follows allometric scaling. Conversely, descriptors of the local mechanical response within the deformed arterial wall, including mean circumferential stress, mid-wall circumferential stretch, and mean axial stress, are relatively consistent across species. Unlike the larger animals studied, the diameter distensibility curves of murine specimens are non-monotonic and have a significantly higher value at 100 mmHg. Taken together, our results provide baseline structural and mechanical information for carotid arteries across a broad range of common animal models.

The mechanical response of intact blood vessels to applied loads can be delineated into passive and active components using an isometric decomposition approach. Whereas the passive response is due predominantly to the extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins and amorphous ground substance, the active response depends on the presence of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) and the contractile machinery activated within those cells. To better understand determinants of active stress generation within the vascular wall, we subjected porcine common carotid arteries (CCAs) to biaxial inflation-extension testing under maximally contracted or passive SMC conditions and semiquantitatively measured two known markers of the contractile SMC phenotype: smoothelin and smooth muscle-myosin heavy chain (SM-MHC). Using isometric decomposition and established constitutive models, an intuitive but novel correlation between the magnitude of active stress generation and the relative abundance of smoothelin and SM-MHC emerged. Our results reiterate the importance of stretch-dependent active stress generation to the total mechanical response. Overall these findings can be used to decouple the mechanical contribution of SMCs from the ECM and is therefore a powerful tool in the analysis of disease states and potential therapies where both constituent are altered.

The vertebral arteries (VAs) are anatomically divided into four segments (V1–V4), which cumulatively transport blood flow through neck and ultimately form the posterior circulation of the brain. The vital physiological function of these conduit vessels depends on their geometry, composition and mechanical properties, all of which may vary among the defined arterial segments. Despite their significant role in blood circulation and susceptibility to injury, few studies have focused on characterizing the mechanical properties of VAs, and none have investigated the potential for segmental variation that could arise due to distinct perivascular environments. In this study, we compare the passive mechanical response of the central, juxtaposed arterial segments of porcine VAs (V2 and V3) via inflation-extension mechanical testing. Obtained experimental data and histological measures of arterial wall composition were used to adjust parameters of structure-motivated constitutive models that quantify the passive mechanical properties of each arterial segment and enable prediction of wall stress distributions under physiologic loads and boundary conditions. Our findings reveal significant segmental differences in the arterial wall geometry and structure. Nevertheless, similar wall stress distributions are predicted in these neighboring arterial segments if calculations account for their specific perivascular environments. These findings allow speculation that segmental differences in wall structure and geometry are a consequence of a previously introduced principle of optimal operation of arteries, which ensures effective bearing of physiological load and a favorable mechanical environment for mechanosensitive vascular smooth muscle cells.

Pulsatile waves of blood pressure and flow are continuously augmented by the resistance, compliance, and inertance properties of the vasculature, resulting in unique wave characteristics at distinct anatomical locations. Hemodynamically generated loads, transduced as physical signals into resident vascular cells, are crucial to the maintenance and preservation of a healthy vascular physiology; thus, failure to recreate biomimetic loading in vitro can lead to pathological gene expression and aberrant remodeling. As a generalized approach to improve native and engineered blood vessels, we have designed, built, and tested a pulsatile perfusion bioreactor based on biomimetic impedances and a novel five-element electrohydraulic analog. Here, the elements of an incubator-based culture system were formulaically designed to match the vascular impedance of a brachial artery by incorporating both the inherent (systemic) and added elements of the physical system into the theoretical approach. Freshly harvested porcine saphenous veins were perfused within a physiological culture chamber for 6 h and the relative expression of seven known mechanically sensitive remodeling genes analyzed using the quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) method. Of these, we found plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (SERPINE1) and fibronectin-1 (FN1) to be highly sensitive to differences between arterial- and venous-like culture conditions. The analytical approach and biological confirmation provide a framework toward the general design of long-term hemodynamic-mimetic vascular culture systems.