PMID- 35070793
OWN - NLM
STAT- PubMed-not-MEDLINE
LR  - 20220430
IS  - 2223-3652 (Print)
IS  - 2223-3660 (Electronic)
IS  - 2223-3652 (Linking)
VI  - 11
IP  - 6
DP  - 2021 Dec
TI  - A novel animal model for vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque: dehydrated ethanol 
      lavage in the carotid artery of rabbits fed a Western diet.
PG  - 1241-1252
LID - 10.21037/cdt-21-291 [doi]
AB  - BACKGROUND: The study of unstable atherosclerotic plaques is limited by the 
      absence of ideal animal models to reproduce the plaque instability observed in 
      humans. In this study, we attempted to develop a novel animal model for 
      vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques using dehydrated ethanol lavage in rabbits fed 
      a Western diet (WD). METHODS: A total of 30 New Zealand White (NZW) rabbits were 
      randomized to 5 groups, including a control group with or without WD, a balloon 
      injury with WD group, and an ethanol injury with or without WD group. Operations 
      were conducted using the right common carotid artery as the target vessel. All 
      animals were followed up for 3 months unless a vascular event occurred. Blood 
      samples and carotid artery specimens were ultimately collected for analysis of 
      atherogenesis. RESULTS: Compared to rabbits in which lesions were induced by 
      balloon injury, those subjected to an ethanol lavage with high cholesterol diet 
      showed progressive atherosclerotic lesions in all carotid artery segments, which 
      were characterized by greater plaque burden, smaller minimum lumen area (MLA), 
      and increased vulnerability as indicated by abundant macrophages, scattered 
      smooth muscle cell (SMC) composition, higher matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) 
      expression in plaques, thinner fibrous cap thickness, and higher possibility of 
      stroke event (50% vs. 0%). Meanwhile, the serum interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) and 
      monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) levels in the ethanol injury group 
      with a high-cholesterol diet were significantly higher than those in the balloon 
      injury group after 3 months (all P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: We successfully 
      established a novel animal model for vulnerable atherosclerosis by ethanol 
      exposure of the carotid segment that has a higher predictive value for the 
      probability of ischemic events than the balloon injury model. Therefore, it may 
      represent a promising animal model for investigating new therapeutic approaches, 
      novel imaging modalities, and underlying mechanisms for vulnerable 
      atherosclerotic plaque.
CI  - 2021 Cardiovascular Diagnosis and Therapy. All rights reserved.
FAU - Zhao, Ruochi
AU  - Zhao R
AD  - Cardiology Center, Ningbo First Hospital, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China.
FAU - Liu, Hongyan
AU  - Liu H
AD  - Neurology Department, Ningbo First Hospital, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China.
FAU - Zhang, Shangshi
AU  - Zhang S
AD  - Cardiovascular Department, Shangrao People's Hospital, Shangrao, China.
FAU - Lu, Qi
AU  - Lu Q
AD  - Cardiovascular Department, Yinzhou People's Hospital, Ningbo University, Ningbo, 
      China.
FAU - Fei, Xiaohong
AU  - Fei X
AD  - Cardiology Center, Ningbo First Hospital, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China.
FAU - Zhou, Honglin
AU  - Zhou H
AD  - Cardiology Center, Ningbo First Hospital, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China.
FAU - Liu, Junsong
AU  - Liu J
AD  - Cardiology Center, Ningbo First Hospital, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China.
FAU - Ye, Honghua
AU  - Ye H
AD  - Cardiology Center, Ningbo First Hospital, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China.
FAU - Chen, Xiaomin
AU  - Chen X
AD  - Cardiology Center, Ningbo First Hospital, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China.
FAU - Cui, Hanbin
AU  - Cui H
AD  - Cardiology Center, Ningbo First Hospital, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China.
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PL  - China
TA  - Cardiovasc Diagn Ther
JT  - Cardiovascular diagnosis and therapy
JID - 101601613
PMC - PMC8748485
OTO - NOTNLM
OT  - Animal model
OT  - endothelial cell (EC) injury
OT  - inflammatory marker
OT  - vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque
COIS- Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure 
      form (available at https://dx.doi.org/10.21037/cdt-21-291). HC reports that the 
      study was supported by grant of Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation, 
      China (grant No. LY12H02001) and Zhejiang Provincial Key Research Project (grant 
      No. 2021C03096). HY reports that the study was partly supported by Ningbo Social 
      Development Research Project (Grant No. 2011C51003 to HY). The other authors have 
      no conflicts of interest to declare.
EDAT- 2022/01/25 06:00
MHDA- 2022/01/25 06:01
PMCR- 2021/12/01
CRDT- 2022/01/24 08:53
PHST- 2021/05/06 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2021/10/25 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2022/01/24 08:53 [entrez]
PHST- 2022/01/25 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2022/01/25 06:01 [medline]
PHST- 2021/12/01 00:00 [pmc-release]
AID - cdt-11-06-1241 [pii]
AID - 10.21037/cdt-21-291 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Cardiovasc Diagn Ther. 2021 Dec;11(6):1241-1252. doi: 10.21037/cdt-21-291.