A comparative study of the mechanical properties in aging alveolar wall.
Abstract: Alveolar wall from the lung of aging humans shows a progressive decrease in maximal extensibility, which should follow an increase in resting tissue length rather than a reduction in maximal length. An increase in resting tissue length is compatible with the change in lung volumes and reduction in elastic recoil that occurs with time. A model of the lung was used to compare the effects of a change in resting tissue length in diminishing elastic recoil with that of a reduction in the volume density of the elastic elements (emphysema). Such differentiation is important in selecting an animal that may model the aging or emphysematous lung. In the rat, rabbit, and horse, alveolar walls show no decrease in maximal extensibility with age. In the male monkey (M. nemestrina and M. mulatta) between birth and 2.4 years there is a decrease in maximal extensibility that lacks significance for the limited age span examined. On the other hand, the energy loss in length-tension cycling (hysteresis) of alveolar wall increases in aging humans, diminishes in rats and rabbits, and shows little change in horses and monkeys. The breaking force of alveolar wall increases with age in rats and rabbits but does not change significantly in the other species. Of these species, the monkey promises a better model of the age-related changes in maximal extensibility of alveolar wall. A measure of maximal extensibility can distinguish the effects of dilatation of air spaces from those of destruction of alveolar wall in causing loss of lung elastic recoil.
Publication Date: 1977-06-01 PubMed ID: 262109DOI: 10.1164/arrd.1977.115.6.981Google Scholar: Lookup
The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
- Comparative Study
- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
- Research Support
- U.S. Gov't
- P.H.S.
Summary
This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.
The research article explores how the mechanical properties of lung tissues, specifically the alveolar wall, changes with aging. The study uses different animal models to understand the extent and nature of these changes and investigates how they compare to aging in humans.
Objective and Need for the Study
- The researchers aimed to understand how the mechanical properties of the alveolar wall (a part of the lung tissue) change with age in both humans and various animal models.
- The study seeks to differentiate between the effects of an increase in resting tissue length and reduction in elastic elements density on the reduced elasticity of the lung that comes with aging.
- This knowledge is important in selecting appropriate animal models for studying age-dependent changes in lungs or diseases like emphysema.
Comparative Analysis Using Animal Models
- The research compares aging in alveolar walls among different animals – rat, rabbit, horse, and monkey.
- These animals show varying patterns of changes with age. While rats and rabbits don’t show a decrease in extensibility, it slightly decreases in monkeys. Horses show little change.
- The study found changes in energy loss in tension-length cycling, or hysteresis, of the alveolar wall with age differing across species. Aging humans and monkeys showed an increase, rats and rabbits showed a decrease, and horses showed negligible changes.
Changes in Breaking Force of Alveolar Wall
- The breaking force of the alveolar wall is another mechanical property explored. This property increased with age in rats and rabbits, but not significantly in horses, monkeys or humans.
Choice for Animal Model
- Among the animals studied, monkeys demonstrated the changes that closely resemble those of aging humans in terms of the maximal extensibility of alveolar walls, thereby suggesting them to be a suitable model for aged-related lung studies.
Relevance of the Finding
- Understanding the maximal extensibility of the alveolar wall in aging is critical as it can distinguish the impacts of air space dilation from alveolar wall destruction in causing the loss of lung elasticity. This has implications for studying aging processes and diseases like emphysema.
Cite This Article
APA
Martin CJ, Chihara S, Chang DB.
(1977).
A comparative study of the mechanical properties in aging alveolar wall.
Am Rev Respir Dis, 115(6), 981-988.
https://doi.org/10.1164/arrd.1977.115.6.981 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
MeSH Terms
- Adolescent
- Adult
- Aged
- Aging
- Animals
- Child
- Child, Preschool
- Elasticity
- Female
- Horses
- Humans
- Infant
- Infant, Newborn
- Lung Compliance
- Macaca mulatta
- Male
- Middle Aged
- Models, Biological
- Pulmonary Alveoli / physiology
- Rabbits
- Rats
- Sex Factors
- Viscosity
Grant Funding
- HL-14152 / NHLBI NIH HHS
Citations
This article has been cited 6 times.- Lo Feudo CM, Stucchi L, Alberti E, Stancari G, Conturba B, Zucca E, Ferrucci F. The Role of Thoracic Ultrasonography and Airway Endoscopy in the Diagnosis of Equine Asthma and Exercise-Induced Pulmonary Hemorrhage. Vet Sci 2021 Nov 15;8(11).
- Kim J, Heise RL, Reynolds AM, Pidaparti RM. Quantification of Age-Related Lung Tissue Mechanics under Mechanical Ventilation. Med Sci (Basel) 2017 Sep 29;5(4).
- Ohnishi M, Razzaque MS. Dietary and genetic evidence for phosphate toxicity accelerating mammalian aging. FASEB J 2010 Sep;24(9):3562-71.
- Razzaque MS, Sitara D, Taguchi T, St-Arnaud R, Lanske B. Premature aging-like phenotype in fibroblast growth factor 23 null mice is a vitamin D-mediated process. FASEB J 2006 Apr;20(6):720-2.
- Geppetti P, De Rossi M, Mione MC, Renzi D, Amenta F. Age-related changes in vasoactive intestinal polypeptide levels and distribution in the rat lung. J Neural Transm 1988;74(1):1-10.
- Suki B, Bates JHT, Bartolák-Suki E. Remodeling of the Aged and Emphysematous Lungs: Roles of Microenvironmental Cues. Compr Physiol 2022 Jun 29;12(3):3559-3574.
Use Nutrition Calculator
Check if your horse's diet meets their nutrition requirements with our easy-to-use tool Check your horse's diet with our easy-to-use tool
Talk to a Nutritionist
Discuss your horse's feeding plan with our experts over a free phone consultation Discuss your horse's diet over a phone consultation
Submit Diet Evaluation
Get a customized feeding plan for your horse formulated by our equine nutritionists Get a custom feeding plan formulated by our nutritionists
