Dataset Information

The effects of elastic fiber protein insufficiency and treatment on the modulus of arterial smooth muscle cells.

ABSTRACT: Elastic fibers are critical for the mechanical function of the large arteries. Mechanical effects of elastic fiber protein deficiency have been investigated in whole arteries, but not in isolated smooth muscle cells (SMCs). The elastic moduli of SMCs from elastin (Eln-/-) and fibulin-4 (Fbln4-/-) knockout mice were measured using atomic force microscopy. Compared to control SMCs, the modulus of Eln-/- SMCs is reduced by 40%, but is unchanged in Fbln4-/- SMCs. The Eln-/- SMC modulus is rescued by soluble or ? elastin treatment. Altered gene expression, specifically of calponin, suggests that SMC phenotypic modulation may be responsible for the modulus changes.

SUBMITTER: Gabriela Espinosa M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5101025 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

The effects of elastic fiber protein insufficiency and treatment on the modulus of arterial smooth muscle cells.

Gabriela Espinosa M M Gardner William S WS Bennett Lisa L Sather Bradley A BA Yanagisawa Hiromi H Wagenseil Jessica E JE

Journal of biomechanical engineering 20140201 2

Elastic fibers are critical for the mechanical function of the large arteries. Mechanical effects of elastic fiber protein deficiency have been investigated in whole arteries, but not in isolated smooth muscle cells (SMCs). The elastic moduli of SMCs from elastin (Eln-/-) and fibulin-4 (Fbln4-/-) knockout mice were measured using atomic force microscopy. Compared to control SMCs, the modulus of Eln-/- SMCs is reduced by 40%, but is unchanged in Fbln4-/- SMCs. The Eln-/- SMC modulus is rescued by ...[more]

PMID: 24322348

Similar Datasets

Project description:In living tissues, mechanical stiffness and biological function are intrinsically linked. Alterations in the stiffness of tissues can induce pathological interactions that affect cellular activity and tissue function. Underlying connections between tissue stiffness and disease highlights the importance of accurate quantitative characterizations of soft tissue mechanics, which can improve our understanding of disease and inform therapeutic development. In particular, accurate measurement of lung mechanical properties has been especially challenging due to the anatomical and mechanobiological complexities of the lung. Discrepancies between measured mechanical properties of dissected lung tissue samples and intact lung tissues in vivo has limited the ability to accurately characterize integral lung mechanics. Here, we report a non-destructive vacuum-assisted method to evaluate mechanical properties of soft biomaterials, including intact tissues and hydrogels. Using this approach, we measured elastic moduli of rat lung tissue that varied depending on stress-strain distribution throughout the lung. We also observed that the elastic moduli of enzymatically disrupted lung parenchyma increased by at least 64%. The reported methodology enables assessment of the nonlinear viscoelastic characteristics of intact lungs under normal and abnormal (i.e., injured, diseased) conditions and allows measurement of mechanical properties of tissue-mimetic biomaterials for use in therapeutics or in vitro models. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Accurate quantification of tissue stiffness is critical for understanding mechanisms of disease and developing effective therapeutics. Current modalities to measure tissue stiffness are destructive and preclude accurate assessment of lung mechanical properties, as lung mechanics are determined by complex features of the intact lung. To address the need for alternative methods to assess lung mechanics, we report a non-destructive vacuum-based approach to quantify tissue stiffness. We applied this method to correlate lung tissue mechanics with tissue disruption, and to assess the stiffness of biomaterials. This method can be used to inform the development of tissue-mimetic materials for use in therapeutics and disease models, and could potentially be applied for in-situ evaluation of tissue stiffness as a diagnostic or prognostic tool.

Dataset Information

The effects of elastic fiber protein insufficiency and treatment on the modulus of arterial smooth muscle cells.

Publications

The effects of elastic fiber protein insufficiency and treatment on the modulus of arterial smooth muscle cells.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure