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Quantitative Measurement of Dissection Resistance in Intimal and Medial Layers of Human Coronary Arteries

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Abstract

The left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery is the most frequently involved vessel in coronary artery dissection, a cause of acute coronary syndrome or sudden cardiac death. The biomechanical mechanisms underlying arterial dissection are not well understood. This study investigated the dissection properties of LAD specimens harvested from explanted hearts at the time of cardiac transplantation, from patients with primary dilated cardiomyopathy (n = 12). Using a previously validated approach uniquely modified for these human LAD specimens, we quantified the local energy release rate, G, within different arterial layers during experimental dissection events (tissue tearing). Results show that the mean values of G during arterial dissection within the intima and within the media in human LADs are 20.7 ± 16.5 J/m2 and 10.3 ± 5.0 J/m2, respectively. The difference in dissection resistance between tearing events occurring within the intima and within the media is statistically significant. Our data fall in the same order of magnitude as most previous measurements of adhesive strength in other human arteries, with the differences in measured values of G within the layers most likely due to histologically observed differences in the structure and composition of arterial layers.

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Notes

  1. Use of materials from human subjects was approved by the IRB at the Medical University of South Carolina, where the tissue harvest was carried out.

  2. Estimation of G in this work assumes the artery has minimal deformation during delamination. This assumption can be readily modified to include the effect of the elasticity of the artery, e.g., use of an elastic foundation where the elastic properties of the aorta are determined separately.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the staff of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Research unit at the Medical University of South Carolina for their assistance in specimen collection and transport. Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under grant number P20GM103444, and by the National Science Foundation under grant numbers NSF CMMI-1200358 and EPS-0903795. Dr. Francis Spinale is supported by the Research Service of the Department of Veterans Affairs. The study sponsors have played no role in the study design, analysis, or manuscript preparation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biomedical Engineering Program, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA

    Y. Wang, F. G. Spinale, M. A. Sutton & S. M. Lessner

  2. Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, 6439 Garners Ferry Rd., Columbia, SC, 29209, USA

    J. A. Johnson, F. G. Spinale & S. M. Lessner

  3. Cardiovascular Translational Research Center, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, and WJB Dorn Veteran Affairs Medical Center, Columbia, SC, USA

    F. G. Spinale

  4. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA

    M. A. Sutton

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  1. Y. Wang
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  2. J. A. Johnson
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  3. F. G. Spinale
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  4. M. A. Sutton
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  5. S. M. Lessner
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Correspondence to S. M. Lessner.

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Wang, Y., Johnson, J.A., Spinale, F.G. et al. Quantitative Measurement of Dissection Resistance in Intimal and Medial Layers of Human Coronary Arteries. Exp Mech 54, 677–683 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11340-013-9836-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11340-013-9836-0

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