Effect of arterial stretch on transmural albumin and Evan's blue dye transport

D. L. Fry, R. W. Mahley and S. Y. Oh The influence of arterial wall circumferential stretch (lambda) on the 32-min diffusive mural uptake of 125I-albumin and of Evan's blue dye (EBD) across the injured endothelial surface was studied in the intimal-medial preparation of the canine descending thoracic aorta (DTA). Albumin uptake (MA nmol/cm2) was measured by standard gamma counting techniques and the corresponding EBD uptake (ME) by the reflectance method. MA and ME were measured at a physiological stretch (lambda = 1.4) and at a hypertensive stretch (lambda = 1.8) at four equispaced locations (z) along the DTA. When lambda was changed from 1.4 to 1.8, the average percentage change of MA was -2% and of ME was -4%. These decreases were not significant (P greater than 0.10), and we conclude that arterial wall stretch exerts only minor influence on the parameters governing albumin and EBD-albumin accumulation in the intimal surface of the deendothelialized arterial intimal-medial tissue system.