Spronck B, Humphrey J D
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520.
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520; Vascular Biology and Therapeutics Program, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520.
J Biomech Eng. 2019 Sep 1;141(9):0910041-09100412. doi: 10.1115/1.4043486.
Findings from basic science and clinical studies agree that arterial stiffness is fundamental to both the mechanobiology and the biomechanics that dictate vascular health and disease. There is, therefore, an appropriately growing literature on arterial stiffness. Perusal of the literature reveals, however, that many different methods and metrics are used to quantify arterial stiffness, and reported values often differ by orders of magnitude and have different meanings. Without clear definitions and an understanding of possible inter-relations therein, it is increasingly difficult to integrate results from the literature to glean true understanding. In this paper, we briefly review methods that are used to infer values of arterial stiffness that span studies on isolated cells, excised intact vessels, and clinical assessments. We highlight similarities and differences and identify a single theoretical approach that can be used across scales and applications and thus could help to unify future results. We conclude by emphasizing the need to move toward a synthesis of many disparate reports, for only in this way will we be able to move from our current fragmented understanding to a true appreciation of how vascular cells maintain, remodel, or repair the arteries that are fundamental to cardiovascular properties and function.
基础科学和临床研究的结果一致表明，动脉僵硬度对于决定血管健康和疾病的机械生物学和生物力学而言至关重要。因此，关于动脉僵硬度的文献正相应地不断增加。然而，研读文献会发现，许多不同的方法和指标被用于量化动脉僵硬度，而且报告的值常常相差几个数量级，且具有不同的含义。如果没有清晰的定义以及对其中可能的相互关系的理解，就越来越难以整合文献中的结果以获得真正的理解。在本文中，我们简要回顾用于推断动脉僵硬度值的方法，这些方法涵盖了对分离细胞、完整切除血管以及临床评估的研究。我们强调异同之处，并确定一种可跨尺度和应用使用的单一理论方法，从而有助于统一未来的研究结果。我们在结尾强调，需要朝着综合众多不同报告的方向发展，因为只有这样，我们才能从当前碎片化的理解迈向真正认识血管细胞如何维持、重塑或修复对心血管特性和功能至关重要的动脉。
