6533b86efe1ef96bd12cc86a

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Computational analysis of lung deformation after murine pneumonectomy. [corrected].

subject

description

In many mammalian species, the removal of one lung (pneumonectomy) is associated with the compensatory growth of the remaining lung. To investigate the hypothesis that parenchymal deformation may trigger lung regeneration, we used microCT scanning to create 3-dimensional finite element geometric models of the murine lung pre- and post-pneumonectomy (24 hours). The structural correspondence between models was established using anatomic landmarks and an iterative computational algorithm. When compared with the pre-pneumonectomy lung, the post-pneumonectomy models demonstrated significant translation and rotation of the cardiac lobe into the post-pneumonectomy pleural space. 2-dimensional maps of lung deformation demonstrated significant heterogeneity ; the areas of greatest deformation were present in the subpleural regions of the lobe. Consistent with previously identified growth patterns, subpleural regions of enhanced deformation are compatible with a mechanical signal—likely involving parenchymal stretch—triggering lung growth.