MICROSTRUCTURAL CHANGES IN COLLAGEN AND ELASTIN AND THEIR IMPACT ON THE MECHANICS OF THE PULMONARY ARTERY IN HYPERTENSION

摘要

In pulmonary arteries (PA), mechanical function is largely driven by the underlying microstructure of the structural proteins collagen and elastin, which reside within the extracellular matrix (ECM) of the arterial tissue. It has long been established that much of the mechanical non-linearity associated with arterial tissue is the result of collagen mechanics. Arterial collagen is arranged within the vascular wall as tortuous fibrils with a bulk fiber orientation of roughly helical configuration.