Carotid Proliferative Plaque Formation in a Canine Model of Chronic Hypertension

Abstract

Carotid proliferative plaques were developed in a canine model of chronic hypertension induced by a novel vascular clip. The plaques were mainly comprised of smooth muscle cells, proteoglycans, and collagen fibers.

Identification of the atherosclerosis phenotype in vivo by vascular duplex ultrasonography in ApoE-deficient dogs

“…Unlike humans, HDL is the most abundant lipoprotein in wild-type dogs [ 19 ]. The baseline plasma triglycerides and total cholesterol measured in this study were in consistent with the Tian's study [ 13 ]. However, in this present study, the LDL level in ApoE −/− dogs was approximately 35-40-fold that in wild-type dogs and became the main lipoprotein in plasma.…”

“…By using the wild-type dogs as a normal control, we first established the normal reference values of diameter and IMT of the main arteries during the young (6–15 months) and adult periods (18–29 months) and found that along with growth, the diameters of CCA, ECA, CIA and aorta gradually increased in wild-type dogs. In addition, the IMT of CCA in wild type beagle dogs was approximately 0.3 mm, which was similar to the Tian's study on carotid proliferative plaque formation in a canine model of chronic hypertension (beagle dogs, n=5 for each group, age 12–15 months) [ 13 ].…”

“…More importantly, the atherosclerosis model of dogs will provide large enough vessels and appropriate lesions for novel endovascular procedure validation, noninvasive measurements of atherosclerotic lesions, and invasive angiogram or measurements. Actually, dogs have been used to establish several experimental models of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, such as chronic hypertension, stroke, mechanical thrombectomy in stroke and carotid dissecting aneurysms [ 13 , [16] , [17] , [18] ].…”