Possible role of endothelium in the orientation of smooth muscle cells in experimental neointima.
Myointimal cells (MIC) orientation and intimal thickening evolution, induced by grafting an autogenous venous patch onto the rat common carotid artery, were studied with light microscopy at different times until 14 months after surgery. Intimal thickenings in the venous patch were most prominent at an intermediate postoperative period, after which their mean size did not change significantly. In host artery neointima, the greatest MIC proliferation was observed at a late stage of evolution. MIC arrangement was predominantly circumferential to the blood stream in venous patch neointima, whereas it was mostly axial in the host artery. The interaction between MIC orientation and endothelial regeneration in the operated vessel is discussed.
D000818:Animals; D002339:Carotid Arteries; D004727:Endothelium / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D009131:Muscle, Smooth, Vascular / Q000166:cytology* / Q000637:transplantation; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012501:Saphenous Vein / Q000637:transplantation; D013997:Time Factors