Specificity of Vascular Reactivity and Remodeling After Repeated Endothelial Injury in a Swine Model

We investigated the difference in vascular responses and remodeling between coronary and iliac arteries after repeated endothelial denudation. Endothelial denudation of the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) and the right common iliac artery (RIA) was repeated 4 times twice a month using a Fogarty catheter in 21 pigs. Vascular responses to vasoactive drugs were evaluated as % luminal diameter changes on contrast angiography 2 weeks after the last denudation. Corresponding nondenuded sites, ie, the left circumflex coronary artery (LCX) and the left common iliac artery (LIA), were used as references. Acetylcholine (1 μg/kg) did not constrict the LCX (0 ± 1%) and the LAD (1 ± 1%, P < 0.05), whereas it constricted the RIA (20 ± 6%) but not the LIA (−3 ± 3%, P < 0.01). Alternatively, serotonin (10 μg/kg) constricted the LAD strikingly (88 ± 5%, P < 0.01 versus LCX and RIA), as well as the RIA (35 ± 10%, P < 0.05 versus LIA). Vasodilator responses to substance P and isosorbide dinitrate were not different after injury in both arteries. The intima-to-media ratio and adventitia-to-media ratio of the relevant site in cross section of tissue sample from LAD were greater than those from LCX, and were more prominent than those from RIA. The results show that vascular tone regulation after the endothelial injury and vascular remodeling might be altered in a vessel-specific manner.