Micromechanics of elastic lamellae: unravelling the role of structural inhomogeneity in multi-scale arterial mechanics.

ABSTRACT: Microstructural deformation of elastic lamellae plays important roles in maintaining arterial tissue homeostasis and regulating vascular smooth muscle cell fate. Our study unravels the underlying microstructural origin that enables elastic lamellar layers to evenly distribute the stresses through the arterial wall caused by intraluminal distending pressure, a fundamental requirement for tissue and cellular function. A new experimental approach was developed to quantify the spatial organization and unfolding of elastic lamellar layers under pressurization in mouse carotid arteries by coupling physiological extension-inflation and multiphoton imaging. Tissue-level circumferential stretch was obtained from analysis of the deformation of a thick-walled cylinder. Our results show that the unfol

SUBMITTER: Yu X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6228495 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature