title: Computational study of growth and remodelling in the aortic arch.
abstract: Opening angles (OAs) are associated with growth and remodelling in arteries. One curiosity has been the relatively large OAs found in the aortic arch of some animals. Here, we use computational models to explore the reasons behind this phenomenon. The artery is assumed to contain a smooth muscle/collagen phase and an elastin phase. In the models, growth and remodelling of smooth muscle/collagen depends on wall stress and fluid shear stress. Remodelling of elastin, which normally turns over very slowly, is neglected. The results indicate that OAs generally increase with longitudinal curvature (torus model), earlier elastin production during development, and decreased wall stiffness. Correlating these results with available experimental data suggests that all of these effects may contribute to the large OAs in the aortic arch. The models also suggest that the slow turnover rate of elastin limits longitudinal growth. These results should promote increased understanding of the causes of residual stress in arteries.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University, St Louis, MO 63130, USA.
authors.forename: Patrick W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Alford
authors.forename: Larry A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Taber
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001013:Aorta, Thoracic / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000502:physiology; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D004548:Elasticity; D004549:Elastin / Q000502:physiology*; D008954:Models, Biological; D009131:Muscle, Smooth, Vascular / Q000502:physiology*; D033081:Shear Strength
chemical_list: D004549:Elastin
references.citation: Am J Physiol. 1989 Apr;256(4 Pt 2):H931-9
references.pmid: 2705563
references.citation: J Biomech Eng. 1998 Feb;120(1):9-17
references.pmid: 9675674
references.citation: J Appl Physiol (1985). 1991 Jun;70(6):2455-70
references.pmid: 1885439
references.citation: Histochemistry. 1993 Jul;100(1):17-26
references.pmid: 8226106
references.citation: J Gen Physiol. 1977 Apr;69(4):449-61
references.pmid: 853286
references.citation: Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2004 Jun;286(6):H2361-8
references.pmid: 15148060
references.citation: J Biomech Eng. 1996 Feb;118(1):62-73
references.pmid: 8833076
references.citation: J Cardiovasc Pharmacol. 1984 Nov-Dec;6(6):1161-9
references.pmid: 6084775
references.citation: J Biomech Eng. 1998 Jun;120(3):348-54
references.pmid: 10412402
references.citation: J Biomech Eng. 2001 Dec;123(6):528-35
references.pmid: 11783722
references.citation: J Biomech Eng. 1986 May;108(2):189-92
references.pmid: 3079517
references.citation: J Biomech Eng. 2004 Jun;126(3):371-81
references.pmid: 15341175
references.citation: J Biomech Eng. 1999 Dec;121(6):591-7
references.pmid: 10633258
references.citation: Biomech Model Mechanobiol. 2007 Sep;6(5):321-31
references.pmid: 17119902
references.citation: Circ Res. 2002 May 3;90(8):918-25
references.pmid: 11988494
references.citation: Circulation. 1993 Nov;88(5 Pt 1):2235-47
references.pmid: 8222118
references.citation: Biomech Model Mechanobiol. 2003 Nov;2(2):109-26
references.pmid: 14586812
references.citation: J Biomech Eng. 1988 Feb;110(1):82-4
references.pmid: 3347028
references.citation: J Biomech Eng. 1998 Feb;120(1):18-21
references.pmid: 9675675
references.citation: Biomech Model Mechanobiol. 2008 Dec;7(6):427-41
references.pmid: 17909868
references.citation: Biorheology. 2001;38(2-3):75-87
references.pmid: 11381166
references.citation: Biochim Biophys Acta. 1980 Jul 15;630(4):519-29
references.pmid: 6772235
references.citation: J Vasc Res. 1995 Nov-Dec;32(6):398-405
references.pmid: 8562812
references.citation: J Biomech. 2005 Jun;38(6):1255-61
references.pmid: 15863110
references.citation: J Theor Biol. 2004 Jan 7;226(1):53-64
references.pmid: 14637054
references.citation: Hypertension. 2007 Jul;50(1):255-60
references.pmid: 17485596
references.citation: J Biomech. 2002 Oct;35(10):1367-77
references.pmid: 12231282
references.citation: Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2007 Feb;27(2):346-51
references.pmid: 17122449
references.citation: Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2007 Jun;292(6):H2754-63
references.pmid: 17237244
references.citation: J Biomech. 1994 Apr;27(4):455-67
references.pmid: 8188726
references.citation: J Theor Biol. 2007 May 7;246(1):87-99
references.pmid: 17240401
references.citation: J Biomech. 2007;40(10):2214-21
references.pmid: 17174959
references.citation: J Theor Biol. 2007 Oct 7;248(3):460-70
references.pmid: 17631909
references.citation: Mol Cell Biol. 2006 Mar;26(5):1700-9
references.pmid: 16478991
references.citation: J Biomech Eng. 1997 Nov;119(4):438-44
references.pmid: 9407283
references.citation: J Biomech Eng. 1991 Nov;113(4):446-51
references.pmid: 1762442
references.citation: Biomech Model Mechanobiol. 2008 Aug;7(4):245-62
references.pmid: 17786493
references.citation: Dev Biol. 1986 Nov;118(1):103-11
references.pmid: 3770292
references.citation: J Biomech Eng. 2002 Aug;124(4):378-87
references.pmid: 12188204