Soft-Tissue Material Properties and Mechanogenetics during Cardiovascular Development.

Hummaira Banu Siddiqui,Kerem Pekkan,Seyedeh Samaneh Lashkarinia,Sedat Dogru

doi:10.3390/jcdd9020064

Hummaira Banu Siddiqui, Kerem Pekkan + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/jcdd9020064

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Abstract

During embryonic development, changes in the cardiovascular microstructure and material properties are essential for an integrated biomechanical understanding. This knowledge also enables realistic predictive computational tools, specifically targeting the formation of congenital heart defects. Material characterization of cardiovascular embryonic tissue at consequent embryonic stages is critical to understand growth, remodeling, and hemodynamic functions. Two biomechanical loading modes, which are wall shear stress and blood pressure, are associated with distinct molecular pathways and govern vascular morphology through microstructural remodeling. Dynamic embryonic tissues have complex signaling networks integrated with mechanical factors such as stress, strain, and stiffness. While the multiscale interplay between the mechanical loading modes and microstructural changes has been studied in animal models, mechanical characterization of early embryonic cardiovascular tissue is challenging due to the miniature sample sizes and active/passive vascular components. Accordingly, this comparative review focuses on the embryonic material characterization of developing cardiovascular systems and attempts to classify it for different species and embryonic timepoints. Key cardiovascular components including the great vessels, ventricles, heart valves, and the umbilical cord arteries are covered. A state-of-the-art review of experimental techniques for embryonic material characterization is provided along with the two novel methods developed to measure the residual and von Mises stress distributions in avian embryonic vessels noninvasively, for the first time in the literature. As attempted in this review, the compilation of embryonic mechanical properties will also contribute to our understanding of the mature cardiovascular system and possibly lead to new microstructural and genetic interventions to correct abnormal development.

Highlights

Embryonic cardiovascular development is an intriguing and vital process
This paper presents a comparative review of the material properties in the embryonic and fetal cardiovascular systems of different model organisms at consequent stages
It is observed that the strain values for the LV are consistently higher than for the right ventricle (RV) across species

Summary

Introduction

Embryonic cardiovascular development is an intriguing and vital process. This paper presents a comparative review of the material properties in the embryonic and fetal cardiovascular systems of different model organisms at consequent stages. Shear stress-responsive elements stimulated by blood flow cause cellular activities; the study of resulting mechanical properties would provide insight into the functional evolution of the developing system [4]. Critical functions such as apoptosis, organogenesis, epithelial-mesenchymal transition during heart-valve development, and associated gene expressions are influenced or directly caused by the mechanical stresses [5]. Elasticity plays a crucial role in the efficient pumping mechanics of the ventricles [6]. Mechanical factors such as myocardial wall stress and strain [7,8], hemodynamics, and ventricular pressure [9–11] are known to interfere with cardiac growth and development

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