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Percolation of collagen stress in a random network model of the alveolar wall
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Percolation of collagen stress in a random network model of the alveolar wall

Dylan T. Casey, Samer Bou Jawde, Jacob Herrmann, Vitor Mori, J. Matthew Mahoney, Bela Suki and Jason H. T. Bates
Scientific reports, Vol.11(1), pp.16654-16654
08/17/2021
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-95911-w
PMCID: PMC8371101
PMID: 34404841
url
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-95911-wView
Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

Fibrotic diseases are characterized by progressive and often irreversible scarring of connective tissue in various organs, leading to substantial changes in tissue mechanics largely as a result of alterations in collagen structure. This is particularly important in the lung because its bulk modulus is so critical to the volume changes that take place during breathing. Nevertheless, it remains unclear how fibrotic abnormalities in the mechanical properties of pulmonary connective tissue can be linked to the stiffening of its individual collagen fibers. To address this question, we developed a network model of randomly oriented collagen and elastin fibers to represent pulmonary alveolar wall tissue. We show that the stress-strain behavior of this model arises via the interactions of collagen and elastin fiber networks and is critically dependent on the relative fiber stiffnesses of the individual collagen and elastin fibers themselves. We also show that the progression from linear to nonlinear stress-strain behavior of the model is associated with the percolation of stress across the collagen fiber network, but that the location of the percolation threshold is influenced by the waviness of collagen fibers.
 Multidisciplinary Sciences Science & Technology Science & Technology - Other Topics

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