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Effect of Transmural Transport Properties on Atheroma Plaque Formation and Development

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Abstract

We propose a mathematical model of atheroma plaque initiation and early development in coronary arteries using anisotropic transmural diffusion properties. Our current approach is on the process on plaque initiation and intimal thickening rather than in severe plaque progression and rupture phenomena. The effect of transport properties, in particular the anisotropy of diffusion properties of the artery, on plaque formation and development is investigated using the proposed mathematical model. There is not a strong influence of the anisotropic transmural properties on LDL, SMCs and collagen distribution and concentrations along the artery. On the contrary, foam cells distribution strongly depends on the value of the radial diffusion coefficient of the substances \(D^{\text{r}}\) and the ratio \(\gamma =D^z_{\text{i,w}}/D^{\text{r}}_{\text{i,w}}\). Decreasing \(\gamma\) or diffusion coefficients ratio means a higher concentration of the foam cells close to the intima. Due to the fact that foam cells concentration is associated to the necrotic core formation, the final distribution of foam cells is critical to evolve into a vulnerable or fibrotic plaque.

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Acknowledgments

Financial support for this research was provided by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through research projects DPI2013-44391; and the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) through the CIBER initiative.

Conflict of interest

Neither author has a financial or proprietary interest in any material or method mentioned. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Julius Wolff Institute, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    M. Cilla

  2. Applied Mechanics and Bioengineering Group, Aragón Institute of Engineering Research (I3A), University of Zaragoza, María de Luna, 3, 50018, Zaragoza, Spain

    M. A. Martínez & E. Peña

  3. Centro de Investigación en Red en Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina, Zaragoza, Spain

    M. A. Martínez & E. Peña

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  1. M. Cilla
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Associator editor Gerhard A. Holzapfel oversaw the review of this article.

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Cilla, M., Martínez, M.A. & Peña, E. Effect of Transmural Transport Properties on Atheroma Plaque Formation and Development. Ann Biomed Eng 43, 1516–1530 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-015-1299-2

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