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Objective: Although the clinical and biological importance of calcification is well recognized for the extracerebral vasculature, its role in cerebral vascular disease, particularly, intracranial aneurysms (IAs), remains poorly understood. Extracerebrally, 2 distinct mechanisms drive calcification, a nonatherosclerotic, rapid mineralization in the media and a slower, inflammation driven, atherosclerotic mechanism in the intima. This study aims to determine the prevalence, distribution, and type (atherosclerotic, nonatherosclerotic) of calcification in IAs and assess differences in occurrence between ruptured and unruptured IAs. Approach and Results: Sixty-five 65 IA specimens (48 unruptured, 17 ruptured) were resected perioperatively. Calcification and lipid pools were analyzed nondestructively in intact samples using high resolution (0.35 μm) microcomputed tomography. Calcification is highly prevalent (78%) appearing as micro (1 mm) calcifications. Calcification manifests in IAs as both nonatherosclerotic (calcification distinct from lipid pools) and atherosclerotic (calcification in the presence of lipid pools) with 3 wall types: Type I—only calcification, no lipid pools (20/51, 39%), Type II—calcification and lipid pools, not colocalized (19/51, 37%), Type III—calcification colocalized with lipid pools (12/51, 24%). Ruptured IAs either had no calcifications or had nonatherosclerotic micro- or meso-calcifications (Type I or II), without macro-calcifications. Conclusions: Calcification in IAs is substantially more prevalent than previously reported and presents as both nonatherosclerotic and atherosclerotic types. Notably, ruptured aneurysms had only nonatherosclerotic calcification, had significantly lower calcification fraction, and did not contain macrocalcifications. Improved understanding of the role of calcification in IA pathology should lead to new therapeutic targets.

Autologous veins are the most widely used grafts for bypassing small arteries in coronary and peripheral arterial occlusive diseases. However, they have limited availability and cause donor-site morbidity. Here, we report a direct comparison of acellular biodegradable synthetic grafts and autologous veins as interposition grafts of rat carotid arteries, which is a good model for clinically relevant small arteries. Notably, extensive but transient infiltration of circulating monocytes at day 14 in synthetic grafts leads to a quickly-resolved inflammation and arterial-like tissue remodeling. The vein graft exhibits a similar inflammation phase except the prolonged presence of inflammatory monocytes. The walls of the remodeled synthetic graft contain many circumferentially aligned contractile non-proliferative smooth muscle cells (SMCs), collagen and elastin. In contrast, the walls of the vein grafts contain disorganized proliferating SMCs and thicken over time, suggesting the onset of stenosis. At 3 months, both grafts have a similar patency, extracellular matrix composition, and mechanical properties. Furthermore, synthetic grafts exhibit recruitment and re-orientation of newly synthesized collagen fibers upon mechanical loading. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of a biodegradable synthetic vascular graft with a performance similar to an autologous vein in small artery grafting.

The evolution of intracranial aneurysms (IAs) is thought to be driven by progressive wall degradation in response to abnormal hemodynamics. Previous studies focused on the relationship between global hemodynamics and wall properties. However, hemodynamics, wall structure and mechanical properties of cerebral aneurysms can be non-uniform across the aneurysm wall. Therefore, the aim of this work is to introduce a methodology for mapping local hemodynamics to local wall structure in resected aneurysm specimens. This methodology combines image-based computational fluid dynamics, tissue resection, micro-CT imaging of resected specimens mounted on 3D-printed aneurysm models, alignment to 3D vascular models, multi-photon microscopy of the wall, and regional mapping of hemodynamics and wall properties. This approach employs a new 3D virtual marking tool for surgeons to delineate the location of the resected specimen directly on the 3D model, while in the surgical suite. The case of a middle cerebral artery aneurysm is used to illustrate the application of this methodology to the assessment of the relationship between local wall shear stress and local wall properties including collagen fiber organization and wall geometry. This methodology can similarly be used to study the relationship between local intramural stresses and local wall structure.

A fundamental mechanism of in situ tissue regeneration from biodegradable synthetic acellular vascular grafts is the effective interplay between graft degradation, erosion and the production of extracellular matrix. In order to understand this crucial process of graft erosion and degradation, we conducted an in vitro investigation of grafts ( n = 4 at days 1, 4, 7, 10 each) exposed to enzymatic degradation. Herein, we provide constitutive relationships for mass loss and mechanical properties based on much-needed experimental data. Furthermore, we formulate a mathematical model to provide a physics-based framework for understanding graft erosion. A novel finding is that despite their porous nature, grafts lost mass exponentially via surface erosion demonstrating a 20% reduction in outer diameter and no significant change in apparent density. A diffusion based, concentration gradient-driven mechanistic model of mass loss through surface erosion was introduced which can be extended to an in vivo setting through the use of two degradation parameters. Furthermore, notably, mechanical properties of degrading grafts did not scale with mass loss. Thus, we introduced a damage function scaling a neo-Hookean model to describe mechanical properties of the degrading graft; a refinement to existing mass-dependent growth and remodelling (G&R) models. This framework can be used to improve accuracy of well-established G&R theories in biomechanics; tools that predict evolving structure–function relationships of neotissues and guide graft design.

The biodegradable elastomeric polyester poly(glycerol sebacate) (PGS) was developed for soft-tissue engineering. It has been used in various research applications such as wound healing, cartilage tissue engineering, and vascular grafting due to its biocompatibility and elastomeric properties. However conventional PGS manufacture is generally limited by the laborious reaction conditions needed for curing which requires elevated reaction temperatures, high vacuum and multi-day reaction times. In this study, we developed a microwave irradiation methodology to fabricate PGS scaffolds under milder conditions with curing times that are 8 times faster than conventional methods. In particular, we determined microwave reaction temperatures and times for maximum crosslinking of PGS elastomers, demonstrating that PGS is fully crosslinked using gradual heating up to 160 °C for 3 h. Porosity and mechanical properties of these microwave-cured PGS elastomers were shown to be similar to PGS elastomers fabricated by the conventional polycondensation method (150 °C under 30 Torr for 24 h). To move one step closer to clinical application, we also examined the biocompatibility of microwave-cured PGS using in vitro cell viability assays with primary baboon arterial smooth muscle cells (SMCs). These combined results show microwave curing of PGS is a viable alternative to conventional curing.

Multiphoton-induced second-harmonic generation and two-photon excitation enable imaging of collagen and elastin fibers at micron-level resolution to depths of hundreds of microns, without the use of exogenous stains. These attributes can be leveraged for quantitative analysis of the 3D architecture of collagen and elastin fibers within intact, soft tissue specimens such as the artery and bladder wall. This architecture influences the function of intramural cells and also plays a primary role in determining tissue passive mechanical properties. Calcification deposition in soft tissues is a highly prevalent pathology in both older and diseased populations that can alter tissue properties. In this unit, we provide a protocol for simultaneous multiphoton microscopy (MPM) imaging and analysis of 3D collagen and elastin structures with calcification, which is effective for fixed and fresh intact samples. We also provide an associated micro-CT protocol to identify regions of interest in the samples as a means to target the MPM imaging. © 2018 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Introduction Connecting local hemodynamics, biomechanics, and tissue properties in cerebral aneurysms is important for understanding the processes of wall degeneration and subsequent aneurysm progression and rupture. This challenging problem requires integration of data from multiple sources. Methods This paper describes the tools and techniques developed to integrate data from multiple sources, including clinical information, 3D imaging, intraoperative videos, ex vivo micro-computed tomography (CT), and multiphoton microscopy. Central to this approach is a 3D tissue model constructed from micro-CT images of aneurysm samples resected during neurosurgery. This model is aligned to vascular models constructed from 3D clinical images and is used to map and compare flow, biomechanics, and tissue data. Results The approach is illustrated with data of three human intracranial aneurysms. These case studies demonstrated the ability of this approach to study relationships between different factors affecting the aneurysm wall and produced provocative observations that will be further studied with larger series. For instance, "atherosclerotic" and "hyperplastic" looking parts of the aneurysm corresponded to thicker walls and occurred in regions of recirculating flow and low wall shear stress (WSS); thin regions were associated with inflow jets, flow impingement, and high WSS; blebs had walls of varying structures, including calcified, thin, or hyperplastic walls. Conclusions The current approach enables the study of interactions of multiple factors thought to be responsible for the progressive degradation and weakening of the aneurysm wall during its evolution.