Low-density lipoprotein transport through an arterial wall under hypertension – A model with time and pressure dependent fraction of leaky junction consistent with experiments

•In our paper we introduce LDL transport model, which takes into account three effects of the elevated transmural pressure.•We consider the increase of filtration velocity and endothelial fraction of leaky junctions and the compression of intima.•Our model is able to quantitatively predict increased LDL accumulation in the arterial wall under hypertension.•Neglecting pressure dependent fraction of leaky junctions causes underestimation of the LDL concentration in the vessel wall.•The paper is supplemented by the full source code https://github.com/marcinofulus/LDLtransport.

The influence of hypertension on low-density lipoproteins intake into the arterial wall is an important factor for understanding mechanisms of atherosclerosis. It has been experimentally observed that the increased pressure leads to the higher level of the LDL inside the wall. In this paper we attempt to construct a model of the LDL transport which reproduces quantitatively experimental outcomes. We supplement the well-known four-layer arterial wall model to include two pressure induced effects: the compression of the intima tissue and the increase of the fraction of leaky junctions. We demonstrate that such model can reach the very good agreement with experimental data.