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(American Journal of Pathology. 1998;153:1723-1729.)
© 1998 American Society for Investigative Pathology

Short Communications

Eliminating Arterial Pulsatile Strain by External Banding Induces Medial but Not Neointimal Atrophy and Apoptosis in the Rabbit

David W. Courtman*§ , Aesim Cho§ , Lowell Langille¶ and Gregory J. Wilson§||

From the Division of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery,* Terrence Donnelly Heart Centre, St. Michael's Hospital; the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, the Centre for Biomaterials, the Department of Surgery,§ and the Departments of Physiology and Metallurgy and Materials Sciences,|| University of Toronto; the Divisions of Pathology and Cardiovascular Research,|| Research Institute, The Hospital for Sick Children; and The Toronto Hospital Research Institute,¶ Toronto, Ontario, Canada

We have examined the role of vessel pulsation and wall tension on remodeling and intimal proliferation in the rabbit infrarenal abdominal aorta. A rigid perivascular polyethylene cuff was used to reduce vessel systolic diameter by 25%, producing a region of reduced circumferential strain. At 6 weeks postoperatively, reduced circumferential strain caused medial atrophy, with 45% reduction of medial area and 30% loss of medial smooth muscle cells. Apoptotic cell death was indicated by DNA fragmentation, propidium iodide staining, and cell morphology. Cuffing the aorta after balloon denudation produced medial atrophy but did not inhibit neointimal growth. At 1 week postoperatively, intimal thickness was slightly decreased in regions with reduced strain; however, intimal thickening in regions of reduced strain was not different from control segments at 3 weeks postoperatively (intimal area was 0.37 ± 0.05 mm² with reduced strain and 0.50 ± 0.08 for controls, mean ± SEM). We conclude that circumferential strain is a major factor controlling medial structure and cell number, whereas growth of the neointima after injury is not significantly affected by either reduced strain or extensive medial cell death. Vessel cuffing represents a new model of blood vessel remodeling in vivo that involves extensive smooth muscle cell apoptosis.

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