In the arteries of vertebrates, evolution has given rise to resilient macromolecular structures, elastin and elastic fibers, capable of sustaining an elevated blood pressure and smoothening the discontinuous blood flow and pressure generated by the heart. Elastic fibers are produced only during development and childhood, before being progressively degraded by mechanical stress and enzymatic activities during adulthood and aging. During this period, arterial elastic fiber calcification and loading of lipids also occur, all of these events conducting to arteriosclerosis. This leads to a progressive dysfunction of the large elastic arteries inducing elevated blood pressure as well as altered hemodynamics and organ perfusion, which induce more global malfunctions of the body during normal aging. Additionally, some arterial conditions occur more frequently with advancing age, such as atherosclerosis or aneurysms, which are called age-related diseases or pathological aging. The physiological or pathological degradation of elastic fibers and function of elastic arteries seemed to be rather inevitable over time. However, during the recent years, different molecules - including several ATP-dependent potassium channel openers, such as minoxidil - have been shown to re-induce elastin production and elastic fiber assembly, leading to improvements in the arterial structure and function or in organ perfusion. This review summarizes the changes in the arterial elastic fibers and structure from development until aging, and presents some of the potential pharmacotherapies leading to elastic fiber neosynthesis and arterial function improvement.

中文翻译：

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弹性纤维的兴衰从发育到老化。对动脉结构功能和治疗观点的影响。

在脊椎动物的动脉中，进化产生了具有弹性的大分子结构，弹性蛋白和弹性纤维，它们能够维持升高的血压并平滑由心脏产生的不连续的血流和压力。弹性纤维仅在发育和儿童时期产生，然后在成年和衰老过程中由于机械应力和酶活性而逐渐降解。在此期间，还会发生动脉弹性纤维钙化和脂质负荷，所有这些事件都会导致动脉硬化。这导致大弹性动脉的进行性功能障碍，导致血压升高，以及血液动力学和器官灌注改变，在正常衰老过程中诱发更多的全身失灵。此外，随着年龄的增长，某些动脉疾病会更频繁地发生，例如动脉粥样硬化或动脉瘤，这被称为与年龄相关的疾病或病理性衰老。随着时间的流逝，弹性纤维的生理或病理学退化以及弹性动脉的功能似乎是不可避免的。然而，近年来，已显示出不同的分子-包括一些ATP依赖性钾通道开放剂，如米诺地尔-可重新诱导弹性蛋白的产生和弹性纤维的组装，从而改善动脉的结构和功能或器官灌注。这篇综述总结了从发育到衰老的动脉弹性纤维和结构的变化，并提出了导致弹性纤维新合成和改善动脉功能的一些潜在药物疗法。