Arterial wall adaptation under elevated longitudinal stretch in organ culture.
Arteries in vivo are subjected to large longitudinal stretch which may change significantly due to vascular disease and surgery. However, little is known about the effect of longitudinal stretch on vascular function and wall remodeling, although the effects of tensile and shear stress from blood pressure and flow have been well documented. To study the effect of longitudinal stretch on vascular function and wall remodeling, porcine carotid arteries were longitudinally stretched 20% more than in vivo for 5 days while being maintained in an ex vivo organ culture system under conditions of pulsatile flow at physiologic pressure. Vessel viability was demonstrated by strong vasomotor responses to norepinephrine (NE, 10(-6) M), carbachol (10(-6) M), and sodium nitroprusside (10(-5) M), as well as by dense staining for mitochondrial activity and a low occurrence of cell necrosis. Cell proliferation was examined by incorporation of bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU). Results showed that arteries maintain normal structure and viability after 5 days in organ culture. Both the stretched and control arteries demonstrated significant contractile responses. For example, both stretched and control arteries showed approximately 10% diameter contraction in response to NE. Stretched arteries contained 8% BrdU-positive cells compared to 5% in controls (p<0.05). These results indicate that longitudinal stretch promotes cell proliferation in arteries while maintaining arterial function.
George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia Tech/Emory Center for the Engineering of Living Tissues, Atlanta, GA, USA. hchan@utsa.edu
Hai-Chao
HC
Han
David N
DN
Ku
Raymond P
RP
Vito
D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D002217:Carbachol / Q000494:pharmacology; D002339:Carotid Arteries / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D004548:Elasticity; D040542:Mechanotransduction, Cellular / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D009131:Muscle, Smooth, Vascular / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D009599:Nitroprusside / Q000494:pharmacology; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000494:pharmacology; D009924:Organ Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D010812:Physical Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D013552:Swine; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods; D014661:Vasoconstriction / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology
D009599:Nitroprusside; D002217:Carbachol; D009638:Norepinephrine