Flow mechanics of arterial thrombosis

Investigating the role of the micro-mechanical environment

Problem

Platelet adhesion in arterial thrombosis is strongly flow-dependent, but the specific role of elongational flow, cell-free layer effects, and hematocrit is often difficult to isolate. This project studies those coupled mechanosensitive drivers.

Approach

  • Analyze high-shear and high-gradient flow conditions relevant to early thrombosis.
  • Focus on elongational flow regimes that enhance vWF-mediated adhesion.
  • Compare how flow profile changes alter platelet-wall interaction likelihood.
  • Relate transport and adhesion tendencies to micro-mechanical blood environment features.

Key finding

The combination of elongational flow exposure, hematocrit level, and near-wall cell distribution strongly modulates platelet adhesion propensity in thrombosis-prone conditions.

Why it matters

This mechanistic view helps explain why apparently similar vessel geometries can produce very different thrombotic outcomes.

Outputs

  • Publication details are listed in the References section below.
  • Supporting conceptual figures are provided on this page.

References

2023

  1. Initial platelet aggregation in the complex shear environment of a punctured vessel model
    Christian J Spieker, Gábor Závodszky, Clarisse Mouriaux, and 2 more authors
    Physics of Fluids, 2023
  2. Simulating Initial Steps of Platelet Aggregate Formation in a Cellular Blood Flow Environment
    Christian J Spieker, Konstantinos Asteriou, and Gabor Zavodszky
    In International Conference on Computational Science, 2023

2022

  1. Loss of \alpha4A-and \beta1-tubulins leads to severe platelet spherocytosis and strongly impairs hemostasis in mice
    Quentin Kimmerlin, Sylvie Moog, Alexandra Yakusheva, and 7 more authors
    Blood, The Journal of the American Society of Hematology, 2022

2021

  1. The effects of micro-vessel curvature induced elongational flows on platelet adhesion
    Christian J Spieker, Gábor Závodszky, Clarisse Mouriaux, and 4 more authors
    Annals of Biomedical Engineering, 2021