SELECTIVE IN VIVO VISUALIZATION OF COLLAGEN & ELASTIN BY MPM

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This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. The mechanical properties of a blood vessel are important determinants of the pressure-flow relationship, the speed of pulse waves in the vessels, the stress distribution in the vessel wall, and the phenomena of mass transport through the arterial wall. The mechanical properties of blood vessels are derived from collagen and elastin fibers, smooth muscle cells, and ground substances. In the present proposal, we will determine the micro-structural basis for the mechanical properties of coronary blood vessel. We will combine tri-axial mechanical testing (inflation, stretch and torsion) of the coronary arteries with the simultaneous determination of collagen and elastin structure. We will use two-photon excited fluorescence (TPEF) and second-harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy as a high-resolution biological imaging technique to selectively monitor the structural changes of collagen and elastin in response to different physical loading conditions. Determination of the origin of signal from collagen and elastin by using spectral measurements allows the isolation of these arterial tissue components by means of spectral filtering, and generates high-contrast images of the vessels. This research will lay a micro-structural foundation for the observed mechanical properties of blood vessels which may serve as a tool for diagnosis in pathology.