Visceral pleura mechanics: Characterization of human, pig, and rat lung material properties

Pulmonary air leaks are amongst the most common complications in lung surgery. Lung sealants are applied to the organ surface and need to synchronously stretch with the visceral pleura, the layer of tissue which encompasses the lung parenchymal tissue. These adhesives are commonly tested on pig and rat lungs, but applied to human lungs. However, the unknown mechanics of human lung visceral pleura undermines the clinical translatability of such animal-tested sealants and the absence of how pig and rat lung visceral pleura compare to human tissues is necessary to address. Here we quantify the biaxial planar tensile mechanics of visceral pleura from healthy transplant-eligible and smoker human lungs for the first time, and further compare the material behaviors to pig and rat lung visceral pleura. Initial and final stiffness moduli, maximum stress, low-to-high strain transition, and stress relaxation are analyzed and compared between and within groups, further considering regional and directional dependencies. Visceral pleura tissue from all species behave isotropically, and pig and human visceral pleura exhibits regional heterogeneity (i.e. upper versus lower lobe differences). We find that pig visceral pleura exhibits similar initial stiffness moduli and regional trends compared to human visceral pleura, suggesting pig tissue may serve as a viable animal model candidate for lung sealant testing. The outcomes and mechanical characterization of these scarce tissues enables future development of biomimetic lung sealants for improved surgical applications.

Statement of significance

Surgical lung sealants must synchronously deform with the underlying tissue and with each breath to minimize post-operative air leaks, which remain the most frequent complications of pulmonary intervention. These adhesives are often tested on pig and rat lungs, but applied to humans; however, the material properties of human lung visceral pleura were previously unexplored. Here, for the first time, the mechanics of human visceral pleura tissue are investigated, further contrasting rarely acquired donated lungs from healthy and smoking individuals, and additionally, comparing biaxial planar material characterizations to animal models often employed for pulmonary sealant development. This fundamental material characterization addresses key hindrances in the advancement of biomimetic sealants and evaluates the translatability of animal model experiments for clinical applications.