OBJECTIVE: To determine the effects of hawthorn extract on serum lipid levels, pathological changes in aortic atherosclerosis plaque, inflammatory factors, and apoptosis-related protein and mRNA expression in apolipoprotein E gene knockout (ApoE) mice. METHODS: Thirty-six ApoE mice were fed with a high-fat diet starting at the age of 8 weeks. Mice were randomly divided into 3 groups by a random number table including model group, hawthorn extract group, and simvastatin group, 12 mice in each group. Twelve 8-week-old C57BL/6 mice were fed a basic diet and served as control. The mice in the control and model groups were administered 0.2 mL saline daily, the mice in the hawthorn extract and simvastatin groups were administered with 50 mg/kg hawthorn extract or 5 mg/kg simvastatin daily for 16 weeks. After 16 weeks, plasma lipids including total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) were determined by an enzymatic assay. Aortic atherosclerotic lesions were observed by light microscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, respectively. Plasma levels of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), adiponectin (APN), and hypersensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Protein and mRNA expressions of Bax and Bcl-2 in the aorta were assessed by Western blotting and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), respectively. RESULTS: Compared to the control group, the plasma levels of TC, TG and LDL-C were significantly increased and HDL-C were significantly decreased in the model group (P<0.01). Compared to the model group, treatment with hawthorn extract significantly decreased the plasma levels of TC, TG, and LDL-C and increased the plasma level of HDL-C in ApoE mice (P<0.01). The levels of MCP-1, IL-1ß, and hs-CRP in the model group were significantly increased and APN was significantly decreased compared with the control group (P<0.01). Compared to the model group, treatment with hawthorn extract decreased the levels of MCP-1, IL-1ß, and hs-CRP and increased the APN level (P<0.01). Compared to the control group, the protein and mRNA expression of Bax in the model group were significantly increased and the expression of Bcl-2 was significantly decreased (P<0.01). Hawthorn extract also reduced the protein and mRNA expression of Bax and increased the Bcl-2 expression in the aorta (P<0.01). CONCLUSION Hawthorn extract has anti-atherosclerosis and stabilizing unstable plaque effects. The mechanism may be related to the inflflammation and apoptosis signaling pathways.
Animals ; Aorta ; pathology ; ultrastructure ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Atherosclerosis ; blood ; complications ; drug therapy ; Crataegus ; chemistry ; Inflammation ; blood ; complications ; drug therapy ; Inflammation Mediators ; metabolism ; Lipids ; blood ; Male ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Plant Extracts ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; metabolism ; bcl-2-Associated X Protein ; metabolism

BACKGROUNDTelocytes (TCs) are a novel type of interstitial cells, which have been recently described in a large variety of cavitary and noncavitary organs. TCs have small cell bodies, and remarkably thin, long, and moniliform prolongations called telopodes (Tps). Until now, TCs have been found in various loose connective tissues surrounding the arterioles, venules, and capillaries, but as a histological cellular component, whether TCs exist in large arteries remains unexplored.

METHODSTCs were identified by transmission electron microscope in the aortic arch of male C57BL/6 mice.

RESULTSTCs in aortic arch had small cell bodies (length: 6.06-13.02 μm; width: 1.05-4.25 μm) with characteristics of specific long (7.74-39.05 μm), thin, and moniliform Tps; TCs distributed in the whole connective tissue layer of tunica adventitia: TCs in the innermost layer of tunica adventitia, located at the juncture between media and adventitia, with their long axes oriented parallel to the outer elastic membrane; and TCs in outer layers of tunica adventitia, were embedded among transverse and longitudinal oriented collagen fibers, forming a highly complex three-dimensional meshwork. Moreover, desmosomes were observed, serving as pathways connecting neighboring Tps. In addition, vesicles shed from the surface of TCs into the extracellular matrix, participating in some biological processes.

CONCLUSIONSTCs in aorta arch are a newly recognized complement distinct from other interstitial cells in large arteries, such as fibroblasts. And further biologically functional correlations need to be elucidated.

Adventitia ; cytology ; Animals ; Aorta ; cytology ; Aorta, Thoracic ; cytology ; Cell Communication ; physiology ; Connective Tissue Cells ; cytology ; ultrastructure ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Microscopy, Electron, Transmission

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of Antrodia cinnamomea on gene expression related to aortal endothelial injury of rats with hyperlipidemia.

METHODFifty SD rats were randomly divided into five groups: the normal control group (NG), the model group (MG), the antrodia cinnamomea groups of low, middle and high doses (AC-LG, AC-MG, AC-HG, 250, 500, 1 000 mg x kg(-1)). The rats were fed with high-fat diets to establish the hyperlipidemia model. After the drug administration for 10 weeks, their serum lipid, SOD, MDA and ox-LDL, LOX-1, P38 MAPK and NF-kappaB mRNA and protein expression were respectively determined, and the aortal endothelial injury was observed under electron microscope.

RESULTIn the model group, the contents of TC, TG and LDL-C significant increased (P < 0.01), whereas the content of HDL-C significant decreased (P < 0.01). Compared with the model group, both the AC-M group and the AC-H group showed reduction in endothelial injury and significant decrease in the content of TC, TG and LDL-C (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). The content of HDL-C increased, but with no significant difference. SOD activity in serum remarkably increased (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01), MDA and ox-LDL levels dramatically decreased (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONA. cinnamomea can alleviate endothelial lipid injury by inhibiting the expressions of LOX-1, P38MAPK and NF-kappaB in aorta and better protect aortal endothelial cells from oxidative lipid injury.

Animals ; Antrodia ; chemistry ; Aorta ; drug effects ; metabolism ; ultrastructure ; Atherosclerosis ; blood ; genetics ; prevention & control ; Biological Products ; pharmacology ; Cholesterol ; blood ; Cholesterol, HDL ; blood ; Cholesterol, LDL ; blood ; Endothelium, Vascular ; drug effects ; metabolism ; pathology ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Gene Expression ; drug effects ; Hyperlipidemias ; blood ; genetics ; prevention & control ; Lipoproteins, LDL ; blood ; Male ; Malondialdehyde ; blood ; Microscopy, Electron ; NF-kappa B ; blood ; genetics ; metabolism ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Scavenger Receptors, Class E ; blood ; genetics ; metabolism ; Superoxide Dismutase ; blood ; Triglycerides ; blood ; p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases ; blood ; genetics ; metabolism

OBJECTIVEBased on high fat diet induced the model of atherosclerosis (AS) in C57BL/6J mice, authors studied the effect of endurance exercise on the atherosclerostic formation.

METHODSForty eight 8-week-old C57BL/6J mice were divided into four groups randomly (n=12): control (group N), 12-week atherosclerosis model group(group H), 12-week atherosclerosis model plus 11-week treadmill training group (group H + E) and 22-week atherosclerosis model group (group HS). Then, we observed the effects of endurance exercise on the ultra structure of aorta by electron microscope.

RESULTSTwenty weeks of high fat diet could result in serious AS in mice while endurance exercise could significantly antagonize or restrain the occur of AS. In addition, 10 weeks of endurance exercise could alleviate the symptom of pathological changes which already happened on aorta wall.

CONCLUSIONIt indicated that endurance exercise could effectively prevent and cure AS that induced by high fat diet.

Animals ; Aorta ; ultrastructure ; Atherosclerosis ; etiology ; prevention & control ; Diet, High-Fat ; adverse effects ; Dietary Fats ; administration & dosage ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Physical Conditioning, Animal ; physiology ; Physical Endurance ; physiology

BACKGROUNDCryopreserved conduit valved homografts (CVH) have been widely used in surgical treatment of cardiac disease. This study aimed to determine the extent of host cell ingrowth and the durability and immunogenicity of CVH, and to compare the performance of CVH stored at 4°C and CVH cryopreserved in liquid nitrogen at -196°C.

METHODSHeterotopic transplants of canine CVH stored at 4°C (n = 14) and cryopreserved in liquid nitrogen (n = 14) were made onto the abdominal aorta of recipient dogs. Animals were sacrificed at 7 and 15 days and at 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after transplantation to excise the implanted CVHs. Tissue DNA extraction and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were performed to calculate the ratio of donor cells and host cells in the CVH. The tissue viability of CVH after implantation was analyzed by detecting alkaline fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF-2) using immunohistochemical staining and by observation under transmission electron microscope and scanning electron microscope.

RESULTSAll the animals survived and recovered well. There were few repopulating host cells (0.04% - 0.83%) in the implanted CVH at 7 or 15 days. The ratio of ingrowing host cells into the CVH continued rising after implantation and reached 40% - 47% in the 12th month postoperation. Histology, transmission electron microscopy and FGF-2 immunohistochemical staining indicated that fibroblasts and the host's endothelial cells were the main cellular elements invading the CVH. There were no significant differences in results between CVH stored at 4°C and CVH cryopreserved in liquid nitrogen.

CONCLUSIONSHost cells growing into CVH are very important for maintaining the long-term structure and function of the implanted CVH. There is no significant difference between CVH storing at 4°C or in liquid nitrogen in regard to the ingrowth of host cells or of morphologic features after CVH allografting.

Animals ; Aorta ; transplantation ; ultrastructure ; Dogs ; Immunohistochemistry ; Microscopy, Electron, Transmission ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Pulmonary Artery ; transplantation ; ultrastructure ; Transplantation, Homologous ; methods

The purpose of our study was to create a novel rat aorta stent implantation model. Stainless steel bare metal stents (BMS) or paclitaxel-eluting stents (PES) were implanted in male Sprague-Dawley rats (BW 400 +/- 20 g). Two and four weeks after stent implantation, the aorta were collected, fixed with 2% glutaraldehyde, and cut into two segments. One segment was used for scanning electron microscopy analysis to evaluate re-endothelialization, and the other segment was used to calculate the neointimal area. At 2 weeks after stenting, the appearance of neointimal hyperplasia was less in the PES group than in the BMS group. At 4 weeks after stenting, no significant difference in neointimal hyperplasia was observed between two groups. On the other hand, the PES group showed more thrombus formation and less re-endothelialization compared to the BMS group. This study demonstrated the ability of a novel rat model of aorta stenting via a common carotid artery to measure the efficacy and safety of commercially available drug-eluting stents.
Angioplasty/*methods ; Animals ; Aorta, Thoracic/*surgery/ultrastructure ; Coronary Artery Disease/*surgery ; *Drug-Eluting Stents ; Histocytochemistry ; Male ; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning ; Models, Animal ; Neointima/pathology ; Paclitaxel/*administration & dosage ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

OBJECTIVETo observe the changes of vascular endothelial functions and general neuro-endocrine-immunity (NEI) network under the state of qi-deficiency syndrome induced by excessive idleness and to approach their internal relevance and illuminate initially the pathophysiological mechanism of vascular lesion induced by excessive idleness.

METHODSA total of 100 male Wistar rats were randomly divided into the control group and the qi-deficiency syndrome model group, 50 rats in each group. The qi-deficiency syndrome model was established by feeding the animals with hyper-alimentation diet in combination with restricting movement for 10 weeks. Changes of common chemical signal molecules related to NEI and vascular endothelial functions were measured by the end of the experiment. Furthermore, their internal relevance was analyzed by the method of canonical correlation analysis.

RESULTSThe vascular endothelial structure and function were obviously injured in the model group. Compared with the control group, the chemical signal molecules, such as 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), corticosterone (CORT), triiodothyronine (T3), tetraiodothyronine (T4), angiotensin II (Ang II), interleukin-1 (IL-1), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) in peripheral blood of the model group (n=43) were changed significantly (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Canonical correlation analysis showed that vascular endothelial dysfunction was correlated to the changes of these signal molecules in the NEI network.

CONCLUSIONSComfort-based lifestyle induced not only vascular endothelial dysfunction but also an imbalance of the NEI network. Vascular endothelial dysfunction and the imbalanced NEI network interacted with each other, and an imbalance of the NEI network may be the pathophysiologic basis for the genesis and development of vascular endothelial dysfunction, even diseases of the blood vessel.

Animals ; Aorta ; metabolism ; pathology ; physiopathology ; ultrastructure ; Biomarkers ; analysis ; metabolism ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; etiology ; metabolism ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Disease Models, Animal ; Endothelins ; metabolism ; Endothelium, Vascular ; metabolism ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Immune System ; metabolism ; pathology ; physiology ; Male ; Neuroimmunomodulation ; physiology ; Neurosecretory Systems ; metabolism ; pathology ; physiology ; Nitric Oxide ; metabolism ; Qi ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Sedentary Lifestyle ; Syndrome ; Yin Deficiency ; etiology ; metabolism ; pathology ; physiopathology

OBJECTIVETo study the protecting effect of polygoni multiflori total glycosides (PMTG) on the atherosclerotic lesion formation and the expression of ICAM-1, VCAM-1 in aolipoprotein (apo) E-deficient transgenic mice.

METHODThirty-two female apoE-deficienct mice were randomized into four groups: PMTG high dose group (150 mg x kg x d), low dose group (25 mg x kg x d), atorvastatin positive control group (5 mg x kg x d), and model group. At the end of the tenth week, all mice were killed. The serum levels of Total cholesterol (TC), Triglyceride (TG), High-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) were measured by enzyme dynamics method. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to observe the morphologic changes of aortic endothelia cell. The expressions of NF-kappaB were studied by SABC immunohistochemistry.

RESULTAs compared with the model control group. (1) PMTG could reduce the levels of serum TC, TG significantly (P < 0.01), and LDL-C level significantly (P < 0.01). (2) It could increase the levels of serum NO and the anti-oxidation capacities significantly (P < 0.01), but reduce the levels of serum MDA significantly (P < 0.01). (3) PMTG could keep the normal morphology of aortic endothelial cell. (4) PMTG could deregulated the expression of NF-kappaB in aortic wall.

CONCLUSIONPMTG could inhibit the occurrence and development of atherosclerotic lesions by its anti-oxidation abilities, which reduce LDL-C level. The low LDL-C level could deregulated the of expression of NF-kappaB, which could deregulated ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 in AopE-/-mice in aortic wall through.

Animals ; Antioxidants ; pharmacology ; Aorta, Thoracic ; drug effects ; metabolism ; pathology ; Apolipoproteins E ; deficiency ; genetics ; Atherosclerosis ; blood ; pathology ; prevention & control ; Cholesterol ; blood ; Cholesterol, LDL ; blood ; Endothelial Cells ; drug effects ; pathology ; ultrastructure ; Female ; Glycosides ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Immunohistochemistry ; Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 ; biosynthesis ; Malondialdehyde ; blood ; Mice ; Mice, Knockout ; Microscopy, Electron, Transmission ; NF-kappa B ; metabolism ; Nitric Oxide ; blood ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Polygonum ; chemistry ; Random Allocation ; Triglycerides ; blood ; Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 ; biosynthesis

AIMTo investigate the relationship between low androgen level and ultrastructure of vascular endothelium.

METHODSForty-eight male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups: group A, normal rats with sham castration; group B, castrated rats; group C, castrated rats given testosterone (T) undecanoate; and group D, intact rats treated with 5alpha-reductase inhibitor. After 10 weeks of treatment or castration, rats in different groups were killed and serum T, free T (FT) and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) were measured. The aortic endothelia were scanned under electron microcopy and the Vascular Endothelium Structure Score (VESS) was computed.

RESULTSSerum T and FT concentrations of rats in group B were significantly lower than those of the other three groups (P < 0.01); DHT concentrations of group D rats were significantly decreased (P < 0.01) when compared with those of groups A and C. Rats in groups B and D rats (with low androgen levels) had obvious damage to their endothelial surfaces, which appeared crimpled, rough, adhesive and ruptured, and had high destruction of VESS.

CONCLUSIONThese results suggest that low concentrations of T and DHT are associated with ultrastructural damage of the aortic endothelia in male rats.

5-alpha Reductase Inhibitors ; Animals ; Aorta ; drug effects ; ultrastructure ; Dihydrotestosterone ; blood ; Endothelium, Vascular ; drug effects ; ultrastructure ; Enzyme Inhibitors ; pharmacology ; Male ; Orchiectomy ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Testosterone ; blood ; pharmacology

OBJECTIVETo study the effects of enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP) on the vascular morphology, and endothelial function using experimentally induced hypercholesterolemic pigs.

METHODSThirty five male pigs were randomly divided into three groups: 7 normal control animals, 11 hypercholesterolemic animals, and 17 hypercholesterolemic animals receiving EECP. Serum cholesterol was measured. The coronary arteries and aortas were sampled for histopathologic and ultrastructural examination. The NF-kappaB protein expression of porcine coronary arteries was investigated by immunofluorescence.

RESULTSCompared with the normal controls, serum cholesterol levels were significantly higher in the hypercholesterolemic animals with or without EECP. The plaque/intimal area ratio of the aorta decreased significantly in animals receiving EECP [(3.33 +/- 2.40)%, versus (12.03 +/- 7.12)% in those without EECP, P < 0.05]. Lipid deposition, endothelial damage and proliferation of smooth muscle cells were less severe in animals receiving EECP than those not. Moreover, activation and expression of NF-kappaB also decreased significantly (P < 0.05) in animals receiving EECP.

CONCLUSIONSEECP improves the morphology and function of vascular endothelium, and retards the development and progression of atherosclerosis, likely through the inhibition of NF-kappaB signaling pathway.

Animals ; Aorta, Abdominal ; metabolism ; pathology ; ultrastructure ; Atherosclerosis ; blood ; metabolism ; pathology ; Cholesterol ; blood ; Coronary Vessels ; metabolism ; pathology ; ultrastructure ; Counterpulsation ; methods ; Endothelial Cells ; metabolism ; pathology ; Hypercholesterolemia ; blood ; metabolism ; pathology ; Lipoproteins, LDL ; blood ; Male ; Microscopy, Confocal ; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning ; Microscopy, Electron, Transmission ; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular ; metabolism ; pathology ; NF-kappa B ; metabolism ; Random Allocation ; Swine