Background: Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) affects more than 5% of the population in developed countries. To study the formation and progression of AAA, we developed a non-invasive method to analyse regional aortic stiffness to monitor the formation and progression of AAA.
Methods: Saline or Angiotensin II (AngII) was subcutaneously infused in apolipoprotein E knockout (ApoE-/-) mice for 28 days; a high-resolution imaging system was used to identify changes in arterial stiffness measured by pulse-wave velocity (PWV) and aortic lumen diameter in the suprarenal aorta.
Results: Both regional PWV and luminal diameter in the suprarenal aorta did not change significantly in saline-treated ApoE-/- mice for 28 days. In contrast, AngII treatment for 28 days rapidly increased both regional PWV and luminal diameter. The difference in luminal diameter could be identified at 14 days. However, regional PWV significantly increased within the first 7 days after AngII perfusion as compared with saline treatment. However, in ApoE-/- diabetic mice, both regional PWV and aortic diameter did not differ between AngII and saline treatment at 7 or 28 days.
Conclusions: Regional PWV may be used to monitor AAA development and was improved after AngII infusion in ApoE-/- mice.
Keywords: Abdominal aortic aneurysm; Aortic stiffness; Regional pulse-wave velocity (PWV).
Copyright © 2016 Australian and New Zealand Society of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons (ANZSCTS) and the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand (CSANZ). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.