Key result
In a mouse model fed a high-fat diet, ApoE deficiency was associated with greater vascular wall volume, reduced aorta PVAT volume, and increased plaque volumes over time compared to controls.
Why the study?
Can 3D microCT characterize the spatial and temporal development of thoracic aorta PVAT and plaque volumes in ApoE-/- mice?
Can 3D microCT characterize the spatial and temporal development of thoracic aorta PVAT and plaque volumes in ApoE-/- mice?
3D microCT can effectively assess vascular wall remodeling, PVAT volume changes, and arterial trajectory modifications in mouse models of atherosclerosis.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Enables longitudinal microCT tracking of aortic changes in mice; leaves open translation to human atherosclerosis imaging.
Perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) influences vascular function and pathology. We present a protocol using micro-computed tomography (microCT), a novel imaging technique typically used for hard biological tissue, to characterize the temporal and spatial development of aorta PVAT and luminal plaque soft tissue. Apolipoprotein E deficient (ApoE) and C57Bl/6J (control) mice were fed a high fat western diet up to 30 weeks. 3D microCT reconstructions were used to quantify: 1) vascular wall volume, a surrogate measure of remodeling, was greater in ApoE, 2) aorta PVAT volume was reduced in ApoE, 3) plaque volumes increased over time in ApoE, 4) plaque development co-localized with luminal ostia, origins of branching arteries, which traveled through areas of greatest PVAT volume, 5) qualitatively, the same arteries showed evidence of increased tortuosity in ApoE. This study reflects the potential of microCT analyses to assess vascular wall, PVAT and arterial trajectory modifications in relevant animal models. Abbreviations: PVAT: perivascular adipose tissue; ApoE: apolipoprotein E deficient mouse strain; Control: C57Bl/6J mouse strain; PTA: 0.3% phosphotungstic acid; microCT: micro-computed tomography; CV: cardiovascular; CVD: cardiovascular disease; IQR: interquartile range; PPARγ: peroxisome proliferator activated receptor - gamma; VV: vasa vasorum; 3D: three dimensional.
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Faight et al. (2018) studied Vascular pathology. ApoE deficiency vs. C57Bl/6J (control) mice was evaluated on Vascular wall volume, aorta PVAT volume, and plaque volumes. In a mouse model fed a high-fat diet, ApoE deficiency was associated with greater vascular wall volume, reduced aorta PVAT volume, and increased plaque volumes over time compared to controls.
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