Heart Care Info - Heart Disease Prevention & Treatment

Relationship between hemodynamics and atherosclerosis in aortic arches of apolipoprotein E-null mice on 129S6/SvEvTac and C57BL/6J genetic backgrounds

H Tomita, J Hagaman, MH Friedman... - Atherosclerosis, 2011 - Elsevier Objective We investigated the relationships between hemodynamics and differential plaque development at the aortic arch of apolipoprotein E (apo E)-null mice on 129S6/Sv Ev Tac (129) and C57BL/6 J (B6) genetic backgrounds. Methods Mean flow velocities at the ...

Arch plaques were five times bigger in 129-apo E than in B6-apo E mice at 3 months, and twice as large at 9 months. The geometric differences, namely larger vessel diameter in the B6 strain and broader inner curvature of the aortic arch in the 129 strain, were exaggerated in 9-month-old apo E-null mice. Cardiac output and heart rate under anesthesia were significantly higher in the B6 strain than in the 129 strain. The values of m VAA were similar in the two strains, while m VDA was lower in the 129 strain. However, there was a 129-apo E-specific reduction of flow velocities with age, and both m VAA and m VDA were significantly lower in 129-apo E than in B6-apo E mice at 9 months. The mean relative wall shear stress (r WSS) over the aortic arch in 129-apo E and B6-apo E mice were not different, but animals with lower mean r WSS had larger arch plaques within each strain.