Injury to the tunica media initiates atherogenesis in the presence of hyperlipidemia

• DOI: 10.3389/fcvm.2023.1152124
• Publication Date: 2023-03-30T07:14:58Z
• Authors: Hanane Belhoul-Fakir; Jiansha Wu; Yen L. Yeow; Gabrielle C. Musk; Helen Kershaw; Evan Ingley; Bichen Sophie Zhao; Christopher M. Reid; Christopher Lagat; Brian Evans; Peter L. Thompson; Michael L. Brown; Juliana Hamzah; Shirley Jansen
• Keywords: Tunica media; Tunica intima; Tunica; Atheroma; Arteriosclerosis

Background and aims Fatty streaks initiating the formation of atheromatous plaque appear in tunica intima. The media is not known to be a nidus for lipid accumulation atherogenesis. We assessed changes response micro-injury produced pig aorta. In addition, we human carotid endarterectomy plaques indication atheroma initiation media. Methods Three healthy landrace female pigs underwent laparotomy inject autologous blood create micro-hematomas at 6 sites within infrarenal abdominal These were fed high-fat diet (HFD) 4–12 weeks. Post-mortem aortas from all pigs, including control group serially stained detect deposits, vasa vasora (VV), immune cell infiltration inflammatory markers, as well vascular smooth muscle (vSMC) compartment. Moreover, 25 (CEA) specimens evaluated their composition Results High clusters, VV density, infiltrates consistently observed 5 out injection under prolonged hyperlipidemia. hyperlipidemic also affected vSMC compartment adjacent adventitia, which correlated with invasion infiltration. Analysis post-CEA indicated that 32% patients had significantly greater than arterial Conclusion intima only site atherosclerosis initiation. show injury can trigger