Biology, Biomechanics and Atherosclerosis

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DESCRIPTION (provided by the applicant): Cardiovascular disease remains the number one cause of death in the United States today. In addition to a plethora of genetic and environmental factors, the diet and lifestyle of Western populations continues to have a profound negative impact on the prevalence of atherosclerotic disease. Significant advances have been made in the management and treatment of the clinical sequalae of this disease process. However, many of these treatments are geared towards the management of catastrophic clinical events. Our understanding of the basic biology of the atherosclerotic lesion is still lacking in terms of a complete and fundamental understanding of the basic biology of the atherosclerotic lesion. The proposed Bioengineering Research Partnership (BRP) will be dedicated to establishing a consortium of investigators from Emory University School of Medicine and The Georgia Institute of Technology devoted to obtaining a greater understanding of the biology and engineering of this fundamental problem of great clinical importance. This BRP will expand upon established collaborations to incorporate expertise in basic vascular biology, imaging technologies, fluid mechanics, arterial wall mechanics, cardiac surgery, and interventional cardiology. We shall make use of explanted human hearts obtained from cardiac transplant recipients to provide a unique, model system to study living, human arteries with established atherosclerosis. The in vivo studies will be augmented by a series of cell culture studies designed to explicitly examine the effects of defined mechanical forces on inflammatory responses and apoptosis in a controlled setting. Finally, the impact of placement of clinically used coronary artery stents on the mechanical and subsequent biological responses of the arterial wall will be examined.