State of the art of the methods and techniques in modeling analysis and in vitro simulation of arterial endothelial hemodynamic microenvironment

Hemodynamic variables in arterial endothelial microenvironment, such as blood pressure, wall shear stress and tensile stress, play critical roles in maintaining the normal physiological function of endothelium. Modeling analysis and in vitro simulation of in vivo arterial endothelial hemodynamic microenvironment may not only offer important physiological parameters for early diagnosis and prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of cardiovascular diseases but also establish a fundamental basis for further understanding the underlying mechanisms of disease initiation and progression, and therefore have important scientific significance and value of clinic application. This paper provides an overall review of research progresses in this area from three perspectives, i.e. modeling analysis of in vivo arterial endothelial hemodynamic microenvironment, in vitro mock circulatory system (MCS) for studying the characteristics of arterial endothelial hemodynamic microenvironment, and endothelial cell culture model (ECCM) for investigating cell mechanobiology under controlled in vitro conditions. We raise several methodological and technical problems of urgent need for better solution based on a summary and systematic analysis of major literatures in this field aiming to offer some references for relevant future studies.