From the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche
Médicale (INSERM) U337, Paris, France (Y.B., P.L., S.L.); and the
Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, University College London, UK
(G.G.).
Correspondence to Stéphane Laurent, Service de Pharmacologie, Hôpital Broussais, 96 rue Didot, Paris 75014, France. E-mail stephane.laurent{at}brs.ap-hop-paris.fr
Abstract
Abstract—We have recently
demonstrated that in large arteries of spontaneously hypertensive rats
(SHR), there is no increase of stiffness despite the increase in wall
thickness, a sign of mechanical adaptation of the arterial
wall to the higher level of stress. Because the dense plaques of smooth
muscle are a major site of anchorage between the muscle cells and
extracellular matrix, we determined by electron microscopy the
distribution of dense plaques and their connections to elastic lamellae
in the abdominal aorta of 1-year-old SHR and control Wistar rats. In
vivo echo-tracking measurement of aortic distensibility and elastic
modulus indicates a reduction of arterial stiffness in SHR
compared with Wistar rats when they are studied over a common range of
blood pressure. The media thickness to body weight ratio was higher in
SHR than in Wistar rats. In the media, the percentage of sectional area
occupied by extracellular matrix was not different between Wistar rats
and SHR. The average number of dense plaques per muscle cell was not
different between Wistar rats and SHR. However, the percentage of cell
surface occupied by dense plaques was increased in SHR, and the
percentage of cell surface connected to the elastic lamellae was twice
as high in SHR compared with Wistar rats (9.4±1.5% versus
3.8±1.1%). These results suggest that the elastin network plays a
major role in the mechanical adaptation of the arterial
wall in SHR, not through variations of its total amount but through
variations of the extent of anchorage to the muscle cells.
© 1998 American Heart Association, Inc.
Third Workshop on Structure and Function of Large Arteries: Part I
Connection of Smooth Muscle Cells to Elastic Lamellae in Aorta of Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats
Key Words: aorta • muscle, smooth • rats, inbred SHR • elastin
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