|
|
||||||||
1Department of Física e Química, Universidade Estadual do Ceará, Fortaleza; 2Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston; 3Department of Física, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil; and 4Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
Submitted 18 June 2004 ; accepted in final form 23 August 2004
Collagen and elastin are thought to dominate the elasticity of the connective tissue including lung parenchyma. The glycosaminoglycans on the proteoglycans may also play a role because osmolarity of interstitial fluid can alter the repulsive forces on the negatively charged glycosaminoglycans, allowing them to collapse or inflate, which can affect the stretching and folding pattern of the fibers. Hence, we hypothesized that the elasticity of lung tissue arises primarily from 1) the topology of the collagen-elastin network and 2) the mechanical interaction between proteoglycans and fibers. We measured the quasi-static, uniaxial stress-strain curves of lung tissue sheets in hypotonic, normal, and hypertonic solutions. We found that the stress-strain curve was sensitive to osmolarity, but this sensitivity decreased after proteoglycan digestion. Images of immunofluorescently labeled collagen networks showed that the fibers follow the alveolar walls that form a hexagonal-like structure. Despite the large heterogeneity, the aspect ratio of the hexagons at 30% uniaxial strain increased linearly with osmolarity. We developed a two-dimensional hexagonal network model of the alveolar structure incorporating the mechanical properties of the collagen-elastin fibers and their interaction with proteoglycans. The model accounted for the stress-strain curves observed under all experimental conditions. The model also predicted how aspect ratio changed with osmolarity and strain, which allowed us to estimate the Young's modulus of a single alveolar wall and a collagen fiber. We therefore identify a novel and important role for the proteoglycans: they stabilize the collagen-elastin network of connective tissues and contribute to lung elasticity and alveolar stability at low to medium lung volumes.
glycosaminoglycans; stress-strain; stiffness; fluorescent imaging; network
This article has been cited by other articles:
![]() |
J. D. Mih and D. J. Tschumperlin Lung Fibroblast Behavior Is Tuned by Substrate Stiffness Proceedings of the ATS, April 15, 2008; 5(3): 364 - 365. [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
L. D. Black, P. G. Allen, S. M. Morris, P. J. Stone, and B. Suki Mechanical and Failure Properties of Extracellular Matrix Sheets as a Function of Structural Protein Composition Biophys. J., March 1, 2008; 94(5): 1916 - 1929. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
F. G. Salerno, V. Pinelli, L. Pini, B. Tuma, R. V. Iozzo, and M. S. Ludwig Effect of PEEP on induced constriction is enhanced in decorin-deficient mice Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol, November 1, 2007; 293(5): L1111 - L1117. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
J. H. T. Bates, G. S. Davis, A. Majumdar, K. J. Butnor, and B. Suki Linking Parenchymal Disease Progression to Changes in Lung Mechanical Function by Percolation Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., September 15, 2007; 176(6): 617 - 623. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
R. Jesudason, L. Black, A. Majumdar, P. Stone, and B. Suki Differential effects of static and cyclic stretching during elastase digestion on the mechanical properties of extracellular matrices J Appl Physiol, September 1, 2007; 103(3): 803 - 811. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
A. Moriondo, P. Pelosi, A. Passi, M. Viola, C. Marcozzi, P. Severgnini, V. Ottani, M. Quaranta, and D. Negrini Proteoglycan fragmentation and respiratory mechanics in mechanically ventilated healthy rats J Appl Physiol, September 1, 2007; 103(3): 747 - 756. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
M. S. Ludwig Proteoglycans and pathophysiology J Appl Physiol, September 1, 2007; 103(3): 735 - 736. [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
C. E. Perlman and J. Bhattacharya Alveolar expansion imaged by optical sectioning microscopy J Appl Physiol, September 1, 2007; 103(3): 1037 - 1044. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
M. J. Emery, R. L. Eveland, S. S. Kim, J. Hildebrandt, and E. R. Swenson CO2 relaxes parenchyma in the liquid-filled rat lung J Appl Physiol, August 1, 2007; 103(2): 710 - 716. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
J. Faggian, A. J. Fosang, M. Zieba, M. J. Wallace, and S. B. Hooper Changes in versican and chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans during structural development of the lung Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol, August 1, 2007; 293(2): R784 - R792. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
K. Huang, R. Rabold, B. Schofield, W. Mitzner, and C. G. Tankersley Age-dependent changes of airway and lung parenchyma in C57BL/6J mice J Appl Physiol, January 1, 2007; 102(1): 200 - 206. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
K. J. Hudson and A. H. Bouton Yersinia pseudotuberculosis Adhesins Regulate Tissue-Specific Colonization and Immune Cell Localization in a Mouse Model of Systemic Infection Infect. Immun., November 1, 2006; 74(11): 6487 - 6490. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
P. R. Arany, K. C. Flanders, T. Kobayashi, C. K. Kuo, C. Stuelten, K. V. Desai, R. Tuan, S. I. Rennard, and A. B. Roberts Smad3 deficiency alters key structural elements of the extracellular matrix and mechanotransduction of wound closure PNAS, June 13, 2006; 103(24): 9250 - 9255. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
S. Ito, A. Majumdar, H. Kume, K. Shimokata, K. Naruse, K. R. Lutchen, D. Stamenovic, and B. Suki Viscoelastic and dynamic nonlinear properties of airway smooth muscle tissue: roles of mechanical force and the cytoskeleton Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol, June 1, 2006; 290(6): L1227 - L1237. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
C. W. Frevert and P. L. Sannes Matrix proteoglycans as effector molecules for epithelial cell function Eur. Respir. Rev., December 1, 2005; 14(97): 137 - 144. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
B. Suki, S. Ito, D. Stamenovic, K. R. Lutchen, and E. P. Ingenito Biomechanics of the lung parenchyma: critical roles of collagen and mechanical forces J Appl Physiol, May 1, 2005; 98(5): 1892 - 1899. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
| Visit Other APS Journals Online |