Mechatronic, Electrical Energy and Dynamic Systems, Institute of Mechanics, Materials, and Civil Engineering, UCLouvain, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium; Pole of Morphology, Institute of Experimental and Clinical Research, UCLouvain, 1200 Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, Belgium.
Mechatronic, Electrical Energy and Dynamic Systems, Institute of Mechanics, Materials, and Civil Engineering, UCLouvain, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium; Pole of Morphology, Institute of Experimental and Clinical Research, UCLouvain, 1200 Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, Belgium; MolDesignS, Sustainable Chemistry for Metals and Molecules, Department of Chemistry, KU Leuven, 3001 Leuven, Belgium.
Acta Biomater. 2023 Jul 1;164:303-316. doi: 10.1016/j.actbio.2023.04.013. Epub 2023 Apr 16.
To improve the current treatment for vascular diseases, such as vascular grafts, intravascular stents, and balloon angioplasty intervention, the evaluation of the native blood vessel microstructure in full 3D could be beneficial. For this purpose, we used contrast-enhanced X-ray microfocus computed tomography (CECT): a combination of X-ray microfocus computed tomography (microCT) and contrast-enhancing staining agents (CESAs) containing high atomic number elements. In this work, we performed a comparative study based on staining time and contrast-enhancement of 2 CESAs: Monolacunary and 1:2 Hafnium-substituted Wells-Dawson polyoxometalate (Mono-WD POM and Hf-WD POM, respectively) for imaging of the porcine aorta. After showing the advantages of Hf-WD POM in terms of contrast enhancement, we expanded our imaging to other species (rat, porcine, and human) and other types of blood vessels (porcine aorta, femoral artery, and vena cava), clearly indicating microstructural differences between different types of blood vessels and different species. We then showed the possibility to extract useful 3D quantitative information from the rat and porcine aortic wall, potentially to be used for computational modeling or for future design optimization of graft materials. Finally, a structural comparison with existing synthetic vascular grafts was made. This information will allow to better understand the in vivo functioning of native blood vessels and to improve the current disease treatments. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Synthetic vascular grafts, used as treatment for some cardiovascular diseases, still often fail clinically, potentially because of a mismatch in mechanical behaviour between the native blood vessel and the graft. To better understand the causes of this mismatch, we studied the full 3D microstructure of blood vessels. For this, we identified Hafnium-substituted Wells-Dawson polyoxometalate as contrast-enhancing staining agent to perform contrast-enhanced X-ray microfocus computed tomography. This technique allowed to show important differences in the microstructure of different types of blood vessels and in different species, as well as with that of synthetic grafts. This information can lead to a better understanding of the functioning of blood vessels and will allow to improve current disease treatments, such as vascular grafts.
为了改善血管疾病的现有治疗方法，如血管移植物、血管内支架和球囊血管成形术介入治疗，可以通过全 3D 评估天然血管的微观结构获益。为此，我们使用了对比增强 X 射线微焦点计算机断层扫描（CECT）：X 射线微焦点计算机断层扫描（microCT）与含有高原子序数元素的对比增强染色剂（CESAs）相结合。在这项工作中，我们基于染色时间和两种 CESAs（单笼状和 1:2 铪取代 Wells-Dawson 多金属氧酸盐（单 WD POM 和 Hf-WD POM））对猪主动脉的对比增强进行了对比研究。在展示了 Hf-WD POM 在对比度增强方面的优势后，我们将我们的成像扩展到其他物种（大鼠、猪和人）和其他类型的血管（猪主动脉、股动脉和腔静脉），清楚地表明了不同类型的血管和不同物种之间的微观结构差异。然后，我们展示了从大鼠和猪主动脉壁提取有用的 3D 定量信息的可能性，这可能用于计算建模或未来移植物材料的设计优化。最后，与现有的合成血管移植物进行了结构比较。这些信息将有助于更好地理解天然血管的体内功能，并改善现有的疾病治疗方法。
用于治疗某些心血管疾病的合成血管移植物在临床上仍经常失败，这可能是由于天然血管和移植物之间的机械性能不匹配造成的。为了更好地理解这种不匹配的原因，我们研究了血管的全 3D 微观结构。为此，我们确定了铪取代的 Wells-Dawson 多金属氧酸盐作为对比增强染色剂，以进行对比增强 X 射线微焦点计算机断层扫描。该技术使我们能够显示不同类型的血管和不同物种之间以及与合成移植物之间的微观结构的重要差异。这些信息可以帮助我们更好地了解血管的功能，并将有助于改善现有的疾病治疗方法，如血管移植物。
