A compliant tubular device to study the influences of wall strain and fluid shear stress on cells of the vascular wall.
OBJECTIVE
Cellular constituents of the blood vessel wall are continuously subjected, in vivo, to both mechanical and hemodynamic forces, which elicit structural and biologic responses. We have developed a compliant tubular system, the vascular simulating device (VSD), that reproduces these forces, while supporting the attachment and the experimental manipulation of endothelial and smooth muscle cells.


METHODS
The VSD consists of a compliant silicone rubber tube coupled to a pump system, which permits the simultaneous application of known levels of pressure and flow, to vascular wall cells cultured on the inner surface of the tube. Seeded cells can be monitored visually under phase contrast or fluorescent optics, as well as harvested and analyzed for biologic responses.


RESULTS
The elastic modulus and compliance of the silicone rubber tube are similar to those of canine and human arteries. Endothelial and smooth muscle cells cultured on the lumenal surface of the tubes remain attached and viable after subjecting them to physiologic pulsatile flow and cyclic strain.


CONCLUSIONS
The VSD makes it possible to approximate, in vitro, those forces encountered by vascular wall cells, in vivo and therefore may make it possible to determine whether specific combinations of mechanical and hemodynamic forces are causally associated with specific vascular diseases.
Benbrahim
A
A
Vascular Surgery Laboratory, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston 02114.
L'Italien
G J
GJ
Milinazzo
B B
BB
Warnock
D F
DF
Dhara
S
S
Gertler
J P
JP
Orkin
R W
RW
Abbott
W M
WM
D000818:Animals; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D001808:Blood Vessels / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D002339:Carotid Arteries / Q000502:physiology; D003187:Compliance; D004285:Dogs; D008955:Models, Cardiovascular; D008961:Models, Structural; D012828:Silicones; D013314:Stress, Mechanical
D012828:Silicones