Pressure overload alters stress-strain properties of the developing chick heart

As a first step in investigating a control mechanism regulating stress and/or strain in the embryonic heart, this study tests the hypothesis that passive mechanical properties of left ventricular (LV) embryonic myocardium change with chronically increased pressure during the chamber septation period. Conotruncal banding (CTB) created ventricular pressure overload in chicks from Hamburger-Hamilton (HH) stage 21 (HH21) to HH27, HH29, or HH31. LV sections were cyclically stretched while biaxial strains and force were measured. Wall architecture was assessed with scanning electron microscopy. In controls, porosity-adjusted stress-strain relations decreased significantly from HH27 to HH31. CTB at HH21 resulted in significantly stiffer stress-strain relations by HH27, with larger increases at HH29 and HH31, and nearly constant wall thickness. Strain patterns, hysteresis, and loading-curve convergence showed few differences after CTB. Trabecular extent decreased with age, but neither extent nor porosity changed significantly after CTB. The stiffened stress-strain relations and constant wall thickness suggest that mechanical load may play a regulatory role in this response.