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Ganizada BH, J A Veltrop R, Akbulut AC, Koenen RR, Accord R, Lorusso R, Maessen JG, Reesink K, Bidar E, Schurgers LJ. Unveiling cellular and molecular aspects of ascending thoracic aortic aneurysms and dissections. Basic Res Cardiol 2024; 119:371-395. [PMID: 38700707 PMCID: PMC11143007 DOI: 10.1007/s00395-024-01053-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2024] [Revised: 04/03/2024] [Accepted: 04/26/2024] [Indexed: 06/01/2024]
Abstract
Ascending thoracic aortic aneurysm (ATAA) remains a significant medical concern, with its asymptomatic nature posing diagnostic and monitoring challenges, thereby increasing the risk of aortic wall dissection and rupture. Current management of aortic repair relies on an aortic diameter threshold. However, this approach underestimates the complexity of aortic wall disease due to important knowledge gaps in understanding its underlying pathologic mechanisms.Since traditional risk factors cannot explain the initiation and progression of ATAA leading to dissection, local vascular factors such as extracellular matrix (ECM) and vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) might harbor targets for early diagnosis and intervention. Derived from diverse embryonic lineages, VSMCs exhibit varied responses to genetic abnormalities that regulate their contractility. The transition of VSMCs into different phenotypes is an adaptive response to stress stimuli such as hemodynamic changes resulting from cardiovascular disease, aging, lifestyle, and genetic predisposition. Upon longer exposure to stress stimuli, VSMC phenotypic switching can instigate pathologic remodeling that contributes to the pathogenesis of ATAA.This review aims to illuminate the current understanding of cellular and molecular characteristics associated with ATAA and dissection, emphasizing the need for a more nuanced comprehension of the impaired ECM-VSMC network.
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MESH Headings
- Humans
- Aortic Aneurysm, Thoracic/pathology
- Aortic Aneurysm, Thoracic/genetics
- Aortic Aneurysm, Thoracic/metabolism
- Aortic Aneurysm, Thoracic/physiopathology
- Aortic Dissection/pathology
- Aortic Dissection/genetics
- Aortic Dissection/metabolism
- Animals
- Muscle, Smooth, Vascular/pathology
- Muscle, Smooth, Vascular/metabolism
- Myocytes, Smooth Muscle/pathology
- Myocytes, Smooth Muscle/metabolism
- Aorta, Thoracic/pathology
- Aorta, Thoracic/physiopathology
- Vascular Remodeling
- Extracellular Matrix/pathology
- Extracellular Matrix/metabolism
- Phenotype
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Affiliation(s)
- Berta H Ganizada
- Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Heart and Vascular Centre, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, The Netherlands
- Department of Biochemistry, Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht, Maastricht University, Universiteitssingel 50, 6229 ER, Maastricht, The Netherlands
- CARIM, Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht, 6200 MD, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Rogier J A Veltrop
- Department of Biochemistry, Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht, Maastricht University, Universiteitssingel 50, 6229 ER, Maastricht, The Netherlands
- CARIM, Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht, 6200 MD, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Asim C Akbulut
- Department of Biochemistry, Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht, Maastricht University, Universiteitssingel 50, 6229 ER, Maastricht, The Netherlands
- CARIM, Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht, 6200 MD, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Rory R Koenen
- Department of Biochemistry, Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht, Maastricht University, Universiteitssingel 50, 6229 ER, Maastricht, The Netherlands
- CARIM, Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht, 6200 MD, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Ryan Accord
- Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Center for Congenital Heart Disease, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Roberto Lorusso
- Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Heart and Vascular Centre, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, The Netherlands
- CARIM, Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht, 6200 MD, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Jos G Maessen
- Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Heart and Vascular Centre, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, The Netherlands
- CARIM, Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht, 6200 MD, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Koen Reesink
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Heart and Vascular Centre, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, The Netherlands
- CARIM, Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht, 6200 MD, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Elham Bidar
- Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Heart and Vascular Centre, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, The Netherlands
- CARIM, Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht, 6200 MD, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Leon J Schurgers
- Department of Biochemistry, Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht, Maastricht University, Universiteitssingel 50, 6229 ER, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
- CARIM, Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht, 6200 MD, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
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Balasubramanya A, Maes L, Rega F, Mazzi V, Morbiducci U, Famaey N, Degroote J, Segers P. Hemodynamics and wall shear metrics in a pulmonary autograft: Comparing a fluid-structure interaction and computational fluid dynamics approach. Comput Biol Med 2024; 176:108604. [PMID: 38761502 DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2024.108604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2024] [Revised: 05/02/2024] [Accepted: 05/11/2024] [Indexed: 05/20/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE In young patients, aortic valve disease is often treated by placement of a pulmonary autograft (PA) which adapts to its new environment through growth and remodeling. To better understand the hemodynamic forces acting on the highly distensible PA in the acute phase after surgery, we developed a fluid-structure interaction (FSI) framework and comprehensively compared hemodynamics and wall shear-stress (WSS) metrics with a computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulation. METHODS The FSI framework couples a prestressed non-linear hyperelastic arterial tissue model with a fluid model using the in-house coupling code CoCoNuT. Geometry, material parameters and boundary conditions are based on in-vivo measurements. Hemodynamics, time-averaged WSS (TAWSS), oscillatory shear index (OSI) and topological shear variation index (TSVI) are evaluated qualitatively and quantitatively for 3 different sheeps. RESULTS Despite systolic-to-diastolic volumetric changes of the PA in the order of 20 %, the point-by-point correlation of TAWSS and OSI obtained through CFD and FSI remains high (r > 0.9, p < 0.01) for TAWSS and (r > 0.8, p < 0.01) for OSI). Instantaneous WSS divergence patterns qualitatively preserve similarities, but large deformations of the PA leads to a decrease of the correlation between FSI and CFD resolved TSVI (r < 0.7, p < 0.01). Moderate co-localization between FSI and CFD is observed for low thresholds of TAWSS and high thresholds of OSI and TSVI. CONCLUSION FSI might be warranted if we were to use the TSVI as a mechano-biological driver for growth and remodeling of PA due to varying intra-vascular flow structures and near wall hemodynamics because of the large expansion of the PA.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Lauranne Maes
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Filip Rega
- Cardiac Surgery, Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, KU Leuven, Belgium
| | - Valentina Mazzi
- PolitoBIOMed Lab, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, Turin, Italy
| | - Umberto Morbiducci
- PolitoBIOMed Lab, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, Turin, Italy
| | - Nele Famaey
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Joris Degroote
- Department of Electromechanical Systems and Metal Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
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de Azevedo FS, Almeida GDC, Alvares de Azevedo B, Ibanez Aguilar IF, Azevedo BN, Teixeira PS, Camargo GC, Correia MG, Nieckele AO, Oliveira GMM. Stress Load and Ascending Aortic Aneurysms: An Observational, Longitudinal, Single-Center Study Using Computational Fluid Dynamics. Bioengineering (Basel) 2024; 11:204. [PMID: 38534478 DOI: 10.3390/bioengineering11030204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2023] [Revised: 02/05/2024] [Accepted: 02/15/2024] [Indexed: 03/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Ascending aortic aneurysm (AAoA) is a silent disease with high mortality; however, the factors associated with a worse prognosis are not completely understood. The objective of this observational, longitudinal, single-center study was to identify the hemodynamic patterns and their influence on AAoA growth using computational fluid dynamics (CFD), focusing on the effects of geometrical variations on aortic hemodynamics. Personalized anatomic models were obtained from angiotomography scans of 30 patients in two different years (with intervals of one to three years between them), of which 16 (53%) showed aneurysm growth (defined as an increase in the ascending aorta volume by 5% or more). Numerically determined velocity and pressure fields were compared with the outcome of aneurysm growth. Through a statistical analysis, hemodynamic characteristics were found to be associated with aneurysm growth: average and maximum high pressure (superior to 100 Pa); average and maximum high wall shear stress (superior to 7 Pa) combined with high pressure (>100 Pa); and stress load over time (maximum pressure multiplied by the time interval between the exams). This study provides insights into a worse prognosis of this serious disease and may collaborate for the expansion of knowledge about mechanobiology in the progression of AAoA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabiula Schwartz de Azevedo
- Department of Cardiology, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-913, RJ, Brazil
- Research and Teaching Department, Instituto Nacional de Cardiologia, Rio de Janeiro 22240-006, RJ, Brazil
| | - Gabriela de Castro Almeida
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 22451-900, RJ, Brazil
| | - Bruno Alvares de Azevedo
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 22451-900, RJ, Brazil
| | - Ivan Fernney Ibanez Aguilar
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 22451-900, RJ, Brazil
| | - Bruno Nieckele Azevedo
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 22451-900, RJ, Brazil
| | | | - Gabriel Cordeiro Camargo
- Research and Teaching Department, Instituto Nacional de Cardiologia, Rio de Janeiro 22240-006, RJ, Brazil
| | - Marcelo Goulart Correia
- Research and Teaching Department, Instituto Nacional de Cardiologia, Rio de Janeiro 22240-006, RJ, Brazil
| | - Angela Ourivio Nieckele
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 22451-900, RJ, Brazil
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Mulorz J, Garcon F, Arnautovic A, De Somer C, Knapsis A, Aubin H, Fleissner F, Rembe JD, Vockel M, Oberhuber A, Lichtenberg A, Schelzig H, Wagenhäuser MU. The Role of Spatial Aortic Arch Architecture in Type B Aortic Dissection. J Clin Med 2023; 12:5963. [PMID: 37762902 PMCID: PMC10532254 DOI: 10.3390/jcm12185963] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2023] [Revised: 09/12/2023] [Accepted: 09/12/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The incidence of type B aortic dissection (TBAD) is increasing worldwide; however, the underlying pathomechanisms are not conclusively understood. This study explores the geometric architecture of the aortic arch and supra-aortic branches in TBAD patients as opposed to non-TBAD patients. METHODS Patient characteristics were retrieved from archived medical records. Computer-assisted tomography (CAT) scans of patients with TBAD and carotid stenosis (CS) from two high-volume centers were analyzed. Various aortic arch parameters and take-off angles of the supra-aortic branches of TBAD patients were measured following centerline normalization in comparison CS patients. A compression index (C-index) was calculated from the para-sagittal, and a torsion index (T-index) was calculated from the para-coronal take-off angles of the supra-aortic branches to analyze aortic arch tortuosity. RESULTS A total of 199 CAT scans were analyzed, namely, 85 in the TBAD group and 114 in the CS group. The average age was 61.5 ± 13.1 years among the TBAD patients and 71 ± 9.3 years among the CS patients. We found a significantly higher proportion of type III aortic arch configurations in TBAD patients compared with CS patients. Further, the aortic arch angle was steeper in the TBAD group. In the para-sagittal plane, the left subclavian artery (LSA) take-off angle was less steep in TBAD patients. In the para-coronal plane, the left carotid artery (LCA) had a less steep take-off angle, while the LSA had a more obtuse take-off angle in the TBAD group when compared with the CS group. In addition, the inter-vessel distance was increased in TBAD patients. Finally, the T-index was increased, suggesting a significant torsion resulting from the deviating take-off angles of the supra-aortic branches supplying the left half of the body as opposed to the innominate artery (IA) in TBAD patients. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest several aortic arch-specific geometric configurations in patients suffering from TBAD that significantly differ from those in CS patients. Further functional studies are needed to verify the pathogenetic relevance of our results and their disease-specific causality. Although our data are not mechanistically explorative, they may serve as a basis for identifying future patients with aortic arch morphology at higher risk for TBAD development and who may benefit from more stringent adjustment of risk factors as a primary prevention concept.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joscha Mulorz
- Clinic for Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich-Heine-University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Franziska Garcon
- Clinic for Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich-Heine-University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Amir Arnautovic
- Clinic for Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich-Heine-University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Casper De Somer
- Institute for Biomedical Engineering and Technology, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Artis Knapsis
- Clinic for Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich-Heine-University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Hug Aubin
- Department of Cardiac Surgery, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Duesseldorf, Heinrich-Heine-University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
- CURE3D Laboratory, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich-Heine-University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Felix Fleissner
- Department of Cardiac Surgery, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Duesseldorf, Heinrich-Heine-University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Julian-Dario Rembe
- Clinic for Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich-Heine-University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Malwina Vockel
- Department of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, University Hospital Muenster, 48149 Muenster, Germany
| | - Alexander Oberhuber
- Department of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, University Hospital Muenster, 48149 Muenster, Germany
| | - Artur Lichtenberg
- Department of Cardiac Surgery, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Duesseldorf, Heinrich-Heine-University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
- Cardiovascular Research Institute Düsseldorf (CARID), Heinrich-Heine-University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Hubert Schelzig
- Clinic for Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich-Heine-University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Markus Udo Wagenhäuser
- Clinic for Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich-Heine-University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
- Department of Vascular- and Endovascular Surgery, University Hospital Düsseldorf, Moorenstraße 5, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
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Anfinogenova ND, Sinitsyn VE, Kozlov BN, Panfilov DS, Popov SV, Vrublevsky AV, Chernyavsky A, Bergen T, Khovrin VV, Ussov WY. Existing and Emerging Approaches to Risk Assessment in Patients with Ascending Thoracic Aortic Dilatation. J Imaging 2022; 8:jimaging8100280. [PMID: 36286374 PMCID: PMC9605541 DOI: 10.3390/jimaging8100280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2022] [Revised: 09/20/2022] [Accepted: 10/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Ascending thoracic aortic aneurysm is a life-threatening disease, which is difficult to detect prior to the occurrence of a catastrophe. Epidemiology patterns of ascending thoracic aortic dilations/aneurysms remain understudied, whereas the risk assessment of it may be improved. The electronic databases PubMed/Medline 1966–2022, Web of Science 1975–2022, Scopus 1975–2022, and RSCI 1994–2022 were searched. The current guidelines recommend a purely aortic diameter-based assessment of the thoracic aortic aneurysm risk, but over 80% of the ascending aorta dissections occur at a size that is lower than the recommended threshold of 55 mm. Moreover, a 55 mm diameter criterion could exclude a vast majority (up to 99%) of the patients from preventive surgery. The authors review several visualization-based and alternative approaches which are proposed to better predict the risk of dissection in patients with borderline dilated thoracic aorta. The imaging-based assessments of the biomechanical aortic properties, the Young’s elastic modulus, the Windkessel function, compliance, distensibility, wall shear stress, pulse wave velocity, and some other parameters have been proposed to improve the risk assessment in patients with ascending thoracic aortic aneurysm. While the authors do not argue for shifting the diameter threshold to the left, they emphasize the need for more personalized solutions that integrate the imaging data with the patient’s genotypes and phenotypes in this heterogeneous pathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nina D. Anfinogenova
- Cardiology Research Institute, Tomsk National Research Medical Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, Tomsk 634012, Russia
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +7-9095390220
| | | | - Boris N. Kozlov
- Cardiology Research Institute, Tomsk National Research Medical Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, Tomsk 634012, Russia
| | - Dmitry S. Panfilov
- Cardiology Research Institute, Tomsk National Research Medical Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, Tomsk 634012, Russia
| | - Sergey V. Popov
- Cardiology Research Institute, Tomsk National Research Medical Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, Tomsk 634012, Russia
| | - Alexander V. Vrublevsky
- Cardiology Research Institute, Tomsk National Research Medical Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, Tomsk 634012, Russia
| | | | - Tatyana Bergen
- E. Meshalkin National Medical Research Center, Novosibirsk 630055, Russia
| | - Valery V. Khovrin
- Petrovsky National Research Centre of Surgery, Moscow 119991, Russia
| | - Wladimir Yu. Ussov
- Cardiology Research Institute, Tomsk National Research Medical Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, Tomsk 634012, Russia
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Kouchoukos NT. Commentary: Increased left ventricular outflow tract angulation correlates with increased size of ascending aortic aneurysms and aortic wall shear stress: But which comes first? J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2021:S0022-5223(21)00988-0. [PMID: 34253343 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtcvs.2021.06.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2021] [Revised: 06/19/2021] [Accepted: 06/21/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas T Kouchoukos
- Division of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, Missouri Baptist Medical Center, BJC Healthcare, St Louis, Mo.
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Weltert L, Di Mauro M. Commentary: The holy grail of aortic surgery. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2021:S0022-5223(21)00903-X. [PMID: 34167817 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtcvs.2021.06.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2021] [Revised: 06/04/2021] [Accepted: 06/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Luca Weltert
- Department of Cardiac Surgery, European Hospital, Rome, Italy
| | - Michele Di Mauro
- Cardio-Thoracic Surgery Unit, Heart and Vascular Centre, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
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