Structural and biomechanical alterations in rabbit thoracic aortas are associated with the progression of atherosclerosis
| Autor: | Ioanna Koniari, Apostolos Papalois, Helen Papadaki, Dimosthenis Mavrilas, Efstratios Apostolakis, Dimitrios Dougenis, Menelaos Karanikolas, Martha Mandellou, Efstratios Koletsis |
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| Rok vydání: | 2011 |
| Předmět: |
Male
Pathology medicine.medical_specialty Normal diet Clinical chemistry Endocrinology Diabetes and Metabolism Clinical Biochemistry Hypercholesterolemia Myocytes Smooth Muscle Aorta Thoracic In Vitro Techniques chemistry.chemical_compound Endocrinology medicine.artery Medicine Thoracic aorta Animals lcsh:RC620-627 Foam cell Biochemistry medical business.industry Cholesterol Research Biochemistry (medical) Anatomy medicine.disease Atherosclerosis Staining Biomechanical Phenomena lcsh:Nutritional diseases. Deficiency diseases chemistry Rabbits business Progressive disease Algorithms Lipidology Dilatation Pathologic Foam Cells |
| Zdroj: | Lipids in Health and Disease Lipids in Health and Disease, Vol 10, Iss 1, p 125 (2011) |
| ISSN: | 1476-511X |
| Popis: | Background Atherosclerosis is a diffuse and highly variable disease of arteries that alters the mechanical properties of the vessel wall through highly variable changes in its cellular composition and histological structure. We have analyzed the effects of acute atherosclerotic changes on the mechanical properties of the descending thoracic aorta of rabbits fed a 4% cholesterol diet. Methods Two groups of eight male New Zealand White rabbits were randomly selected and fed for 8 weeks either an atherogenic diet (4% cholesterol plus regular rabbit chow), or regular chow. Animals were sacrificed after 8 weeks, and the descending thoracic aortas were excised for pressure-diameter tests and histological evaluation to examine the relationship between aortic elastic properties and atherosclerotic lesions. Results All rabbits fed the high-cholesterol diet developed either intermediate or advanced atherosclerotic lesions, particularly American Heart Association-type III and IV, which were fatty and contained abundant lipid-filled foam cells (RAM 11-positive cells) and fewer SMCs with solid-like actin staining (HHF-35-positive cells). In contrast, rabbits fed a normal diet had no visible atherosclerotic changes. The atherosclerotic lesions correlated with a statistically significant decrease in mean vessel wall stiffness in the cholesterol-fed rabbits (51.52 ± 8.76 kPa) compared to the control animals (68.98 ± 11.98 kPa), especially in rabbits with more progressive disease. Conclusions Notably, stiffness appears to decrease with the progression of atherosclerosis after the 8-week period. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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