Arterial wall remodeling under sustained axial twisting in rats

作者：Wang, Guo-Liang; Wang, Li-Yi; Yang, Shao-Xiong; Zhang, Ping; Chen, Xiao-Hu; Yao, Qing-Ping; Gong, Xiao-Bo; Qi, Ying-Xin; Jiang, Zong-Lai^*; Han, Hai-Chao^*

来源：Journal of Biomechanics, 2017, 60: 124-133.

DOI：10.1016/j.jbiomech.2017.06.013

• Artery twist
• Torsion
• Shear stress
• Wall remodeling
• Rat
• Endothelial cell
• Cell proliferation
• Internal elastic lamina, fenestrae, extracellular matrix
• Matrix metalloproteinase

Blood vessels often experience torsion along their axes and it is essential to understand their biological responses and wall remodeling under torsion. To this end, a rat model was developed to investigate the arterial wall remodeling under sustained axial twisting in vivo. Rat carotid arteries were twisted at 180 degrees along the longitudinal axis through a surgical procedure and maintained for different durations up to 4 weeks. The wall remodeling in these twisted arteries was examined using histology, immunohistochemistry and fluorescent microscopy. Our data showed that arteries remodeled under twisting in a time-dependent manner during the 4 weeks post-surgery. Cell proliferation, MMP-2 and MMP-9 expressions, medial wall thickness and lumen diameter increased while collagen to elastin ratio decreased. The size and number of internal elastic lamina fenestrae increased with elongated shapes, while the endothelial cells elongated and aligned towards the blood flow direction gradually. These results demonstrated that sustained, axial twisting results in artery remodeling in vivo. The rat carotid artery twisting model is an effective in vivo model for studying arterial wall remodeling under long-term torsion. These results enrich our understanding of vascular biology and arterial wall remodeling under mechanical stresses.

• 出版日期2017-7-26
• 单位上海交通大学