title: An in vivo rat model of artery buckling for studying wall remodeling.
abstract: Theoretical modeling and in vitro experiments have demonstrated that arterial buckling is a possible mechanism for the development of artery tortuosity. However, there has been no report of whether artery buckling develops into tortuosity, partially due to the lack of in vivo models for long-term studies. The objective of this study was to establish an in vivo buckling model in rat carotid arteries for studying arterial wall remodeling after buckling. Rat left carotid arteries were transplanted to the right carotid arteries to generate buckling under in vivo pressure and were maintained for 1 week to examine wall remodeling and adaptation. Our results showed that a significant buckling was achieved in the carotid arterial grafts with altered wall stress. Cell proliferation and matrix metalloprotinease-2 (MMP-2) expression in the buckled arteries increased significantly compared with the controls. The tortuosity level of the grafts also slightly increased 1 week post-surgery, while there was no change in vessel dimensions, blood pressure, and blood flow velocity. The artery buckling model provides a useful tool for further study of the adaptation of arteries into tortuous shapes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, 78249, USA.
authors.forename: Jinzhou
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Qin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Hai-Chao
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Han
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001158:Arteries / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D002339:Carotid Arteries / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D007593:Joint Instability / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D020778:Matrix Metalloproteinase 2 / Q000378:metabolism; D020780:Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 / Q000378:metabolism; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012039:Regional Blood Flow; D012873:Skin Diseases, Genetic / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology*; D054079:Vascular Malformations / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology*; D066253:Vascular Remodeling
chemical_list: D020778:Matrix Metalloproteinase 2; C522363:Mmp2 protein, rat; D020780:Matrix Metalloproteinase 9; C572337:Mmp9 protein, rat