Correlation of Adventitial Vasa Vasora Density with Intima-Media Thickness in Aorta of Cholesterol-Fed Rabbits
Keywords:
Aorta, Cholesterol intima-media thickness, adventitia,, vasa vasorum densityAbstract
Background: Atherosclerosis has been considered as the disease of intima with the role of tunica adventitia
so far neglected. Current evidence shows that adventitia, and particularly the vasa vasora (VV) reacts to the
process of atherogenesis.
Objective: The study was aimed to calculate the VV density in adventitia and to correlate it with intimamedia
thickness in aorta of cholesterol-fed rabbits.
Materials & Methods: This experimental study was conducted in Army Medical College Rawalpindi. Samples
of vessels were obtained from twenty adult NZW rabbits fed normal (group A) or 2% high-cholesterol (group
B) diet for 6 weeks (n=10/group). Aortic sections were taken from each part (ascending, arch, descending
thoracic and abdominal) of every aorta. Light microscopic cross sectional analysis was performed in H&E
stained slides. Intima-media thickness (IMT) and adventitial VV density were calculated and their correlation
was investigated in each part of aorta.
Results: A total of 80 cross sections were analyzed. Mean±SE IMT and adventitial VV density was
significantly increased in ascending, arch, and descending thoracic parts of group B versus their equivalent
aortic parts in group A. But, there was an insignificant difference of means regarding VV density of
abdominal aorta between both groups, despite a significant increase of IMT in group B. A very strong positive
correlation was observed between the adventitial VV density and IMT in each aortic part of cholesterol-fed
rabbits.
Conclusion: The present study showed that increased IMT is strongly associated with enhanced adventitial
VV density in each aortic part of cholesterol-fed rabbits.
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2018 Uzma Shahid, Shadab Ahmed But, Zubia Athar, Asma Hafeez, Rehmah Sarfraz
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Readers may “Share-copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format” and “Adapt-remix, transform, and build upon the material”. The readers must give appropriate credit to the source of the material and indicate if changes were made to the material. Readers may not use the material for commercial purpose. The readers may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
