Force balance ratio is a robust predictor of arterial thrombus stability

Biophys J. 2024 Jan 10:S0006-3495(24)00010-9. doi: 10.1016/j.bpj.2024.01.009. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTThrombus formation on a damaged vessel wall can lead to the formation of a stable occlusive/subocclusive clot or unstable embolizing thrombus. Both outcomes can cause significant health damage. The mechanisms that regulate maximum thrombus size, its stability, and embolization in both micro- and macrocirculation are poorly understood. To investigate the impact of flow and intrathrombus forces on the stability of homogeneous and heterogeneous platelet thrombi in a wide range of thrombus geometries, critical interplatelet forces, vessel diameters, and hydrodynamic conditions, we took advantage of the recently developed in silico models. To perform analysis of thrombus stability/embolization in arterioles, we used our previously developed particle-based 2D model with a single-platelet resolution. Its results and predictions were further extended to a 3D case and the large spatial scales of arteries using novel particle-based and continuum 3D models. We found a robust quantitative parameter, termed force balance ratio, which quantifies the balance between destabilizing hydrodynamic and stabilizing interplatelet forces. This parameter predicts whether a homogeneous thrombus (or the shell of a heterogeneous thrombus) with a particular value of critical interplatelet forces will embolize under given hydrodynamic conditions. Our simulations also predict that, for a given magnit...

Source: Biophysical Journal - January 11, 2024 Category: Physics Authors: Efim S Bershadsky Daniel A Ermokhin Vladimir A Kurattsev Mikhail A Panteleev Dmitry Y Nechipurenko Source Type: research