ArticleAPL bioengineering2023
A tissue-engineered model of the atherosclerotic plaque cap: Toward understanding the role of microcalcifications in plaque rupture.
Article in APL bioengineering, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 13 citations in OpenAlex.
- Coronary Calcified Nodules: From Pathological Definitions to Intravascular Imaging- and Morphology-Guided PCI.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Article
- Microcalcification: Effects on Atherosclerotic Vulnerable Plaques, Detection, and Therapeutic Perspectives.Current atherosclerosis reports · 2026Review
- Biomechanics of Plaque Rupture and Cardiovascular Calcification.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2026Review
- Modelling Atherosclerotic Plaque Cap Mechanics: Microcalcifications Reduce Mechanical Properties in Mesenchymal Stromal Cell-Based Model.Advanced biology · 2025Article
- Modulating vascular stresses through homeostatic remodelling: a multi-patient analysis of atherosclerotic carotid biomechanics.Journal of the Royal Society, Interface · 2025Article
- A Parameterized Cross-Sectional Model for Simulating Balloon Angioplasty in Atherosclerotic Arteries.International journal for numerical methods in biomedical engineering · 2025Article
- Role of biomechanical factors in plaque rupture and erosion: insight from intravascular imaging based computational modeling.NPJ cardiovascular health · 2025Review
- Investigating the impact of microcalcification size and volume on collagenous matrix and tissue mechanics using a tissue-engineered atherosclerotic cap model.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2025Article
- Increasing arterial compliance by laser modification of fibro-calcific plaques.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2025Article
- Combining Computational Fluid Dynamics, Structural Analysis, and Machine Learning to Predict Cerebrovascular Events: A Mild ML Approach.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- The interplay of collagen, macrophages, and microcalcification in atherosclerotic plaque cap rupture mechanics.Basic research in cardiology · 2024Review
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Rupture of the cap of an atherosclerotic plaque can lead to thrombotic cardiovascular events. It has been suggested, through computational models, that the presence of microcalcifications in the atherosclerotic cap can increase the risk of cap rupture. However, the experimental confirmation of this hypothesis is still lacking. In this study, we have developed a novel tissue-engineered model to mimic the atherosclerotic fibrous cap with microcalcifications and assess the impact of microcalcifications on cap mechanics. First, human carotid plaque caps were analyzed to determine the distribution, size, and density of microcalcifications in real cap tissue. Hydroxyapatite particles with features similar to real cap microcalcifications were used as microcalcification mimics. Injected clusters of hydroxyapatite particles were embedded in a fibrin gel seeded with human myofibroblasts which deposited a native-like collagenous matrix around the particles, during the 21-day culture period. Second harmonic multiphoton microscopy imaging revealed higher local collagen fiber dispersion in regions of hydroxyapatite clusters. Tissue-engineered caps with hydroxyapatite particles demonstrated lower stiffness and ultimate tensile stress than the control group samples under uniaxial tensile loading, suggesting increased rupture risk in atherosclerotic plaques with microcalcifications. This model supports previous computational findings regarding a detrimental role for microcalcifications in cap rupture risk and can further be deployed to elucidate tissue mechanics in pathologies with calcifying soft tissues.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.