title: Elastin organization in pig and cardiovascular disease patients' pericardial resistance arteries.
abstract: Peripheral vascular resistance is increased in essential hypertension. This involves structural changes of resistance arteries and stiffening of the arterial wall, including remodeling of the extracellular matrix. We hypothesized that biopsies of the human parietal pericardium, obtained during coronary artery bypass grafting or cardiac valve replacement surgeries, can serve as a source of resistance arteries for structural research in cardiovascular disease patients. We applied two-photon excitation fluorescence microscopy to study the parietal pericardium and isolated pericardial resistance arteries with a focus on the collagen and elastin components of the extracellular matrix. Initial findings in pig tissue were confirmed in patient biopsies. The microarchitecture of the internal elastic lamina in both the pig and patient pericardial resistance arteries (studied at a transmural pressure of 100 mm Hg) is fiber like, and no prominent external elastic lamina could be observed. This microarchitecture is very different from that in rat mesenteric arteries frequently used for resistance artery research. In conclusion, we add three-dimensional information on the structure of the extracellular matrix in resistance arteries from cardiovascular disease patients and propose further use of patient pericardial resistance arteries for studies of the human microvasculature.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular and Renal Research, Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bloksgaard
authors.forename: Thomas M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Leurgans
authors.forename: Inger
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Nissen
authors.forename: Pia Søndergaard
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Jensen
authors.forename: Maria Lyck
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Hansen
authors.forename: Jonathan R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Brewer
authors.forename: Luis A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Bagatolli
authors.forename: Niels
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Marcussen
authors.forename: Akhmadjon
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Irmukhamedov
authors.forename: Lars Melholt
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Rasmussen
authors.forename: Jo G R
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: De Mey
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004547:Elastic Tissue / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D004549:Elastin / Q000032:analysis*; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000737:chemistry / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008638:Mesenteric Arteries / Q000648:ultrastructure; D036641:Microscopy, Fluorescence, Multiphoton; D008875:Middle Aged; D010496:Pericardium; D051381:Rats; D013045:Species Specificity; D034421:Sus scrofa / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D013552:Swine; D014655:Vascular Resistance
chemical_list: D004549:Elastin