Stiffness was measured in aortic rings passively stretched on an automatic force transducer to calculate the Elastic modulus (kPA). Aortic rings collected from LZR (A, n=8) and OZR (B, n=7–8) were made passive by incubation in a calcium free solution and passively stretched. To more directly assess tPVAT-mediated aortic stiffness health donor aortic rings were collected and co-cultured with tPVAT for 72 hours and then mounted on the automated force transducer to access stiffness (C&D, n=3–4). The vascular remodeling factors MMP-9 (E&F, n=4–7) assessed by ELISA based activity assay and TIMP-1 (G&H, n=5) assessed as part of a multiplex assay in tPVAT. * p<0.05, ** p<0.01