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Mechanical Testing of Mouse Carotid Arteries: from Newborn to Adult
Published on: February 23, 2012
Repeated Loading Behavior of Pediatric Porcine Common Carotid Arteries
Stephanie A Pasquesi1, Yishan Liu1, Susan S Margulies2
1Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, 240 Skirkanich Hall, 210 South 33rd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6321.
Insights
Immature porcine carotid arteries subjected to cyclic stretching showed softening, indicating potential fatiguelike behavior. This finding may help understand traumatic brain injury complications like vasospasm.
Area of Science:
- Biomechanics
- Vascular Biology
- Traumatic Brain Injury Research
Background:
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can involve rapid neck movements, potentially affecting the common carotid artery (CCA).
- Understanding the mechanical response of the CCA to longitudinal stretch is crucial for elucidating factors contributing to vasospasm and ischemic injury in TBI.
- Arterial tissue may exhibit fatiguelike behavior under repeated mechanical loads.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the mechanical response of immature porcine common carotid arteries (CCAs) to cyclic longitudinal stretch.
- To characterize the softening behavior of CCAs under subcatastrophic loading conditions.
- To explore potential fatiguelike properties in arterial tissue relevant to TBI.
Main Methods:
- Immature (4-week-old) porcine CCAs were subjected to cyclic longitudinal loading.
- Loading parameters included a peak stretch ratio of 1.5 at a frequency of 3 Hz for 30 seconds.
- Mechanical properties such as peak stress and corner stretch were analyzed over loading cycles.
Main Results:
- The immature porcine CCA exhibited softening behavior under subcatastrophic cyclic longitudinal extension.
- This softening was characterized by a decrease in peak stress with an increasing number of loading cycles.
- Corner stretch values increased with the number of loading cycles, further indicating softening.
Conclusions:
- Immature porcine CCAs display a fatiguelike softening behavior when subjected to repeated subcatastrophic longitudinal stretching.
- This mechanical response may be a contributing factor to vasospasm and exacerbated ischemic injury in TBI scenarios.
- Further research into arterial tissue mechanics under cyclic loading is warranted for TBI-related injury mechanisms.
Abstract:
Rapid flexion and extension of the neck may occur during scenarios associated with traumatic brain injury (TBI), and understanding the mechanical response of the common carotid artery (CCA) to longitudinal stretch may enhance understanding of contributing factors that may influence CCA vasospasm and exacerbate ischemic injury associated with TBI. Immature (4-week-old) porcine CCAs were tested under subcatastrophic (1.5 peak stretch ratio) cyclic loading at 3 Hz for 30 s. Under subcatastrophic cyclic longitudinal extension, the immature porcine CCA displays softening behavior. This softening can be represented by decreasing peak stress and increasing corner stretch values with an increasing number of loading cycles. This investigation is an important first step in the exploration of fatiguelike behavior in arterial tissue that may be subjected to repeated longitudinal loads.
