Recent studies indicate that systemic induction of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), which oxidatively degrades heme into iron, biliverdin, and carbon monoxide (CO), or adenoviral-mediated gene transfer of HO-1 inhibits neointima formation after experimental vascular injury. In the present study, we investigated whether the acute, local administration of the HO-1 product, CO, regulates the arterial remo...

BACKGROUND Inflammation plays a key role in neointimal hyperplasia after an arterial injury. Chronic infectious disorders, such as periodontitis, are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. However, the effects of a periodontal infection on vascular remodeling have not been examined. We assess the hypothesis that periodontal infection could promote neointimal formation aft...

BACKGROUND Recent studies have demonstrated that systemic pharmacological induction of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), the inducible isoform of the initial and rate-limiting enzyme for heme catabolism, attenuates neointima formation after experimental vascular injury. We have now investigated the ability of localized adenovirus-mediated HO-1 (Ad-HO-1) gene delivery to modify arterial remodeling after ...

OBJECTIVE We have previously demonstrated that bindarit, a selective inhibitor of monocyte chemotactic proteins (MCPs), is effective in reducing neointimal formation in rodent models of vascular injury by reducing smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration and neointimal macrophage content, effects associated with the inhibition of MCP-1/CCL2 production. The aim of the current study was to ...

AIMS Coronary late stent thrombosis, a rare but devastating complication, remains an important concern in particular with the increasing use of drug-eluting stents. Notably, pathological studies have indicated that the proportion of uncovered coronary stent struts represents the best morphometric predictor of late stent thrombosis. Intracoronary optical frequency domain imaging (OFDI), a novel ...

BACKGROUND We aimed to describe the frequency of vascular inflammatory reactions with second generation drug eluting stents (DES) compared to first generation DES, and analyze the impact on inflammation and neointimal proliferation in a porcine coronary model. METHODS A total of 26 stents (7 multi-link VISION, 6 CYPHER, 6 TAXUS and 7 XIENCE V) were deployed in the coronary arteries of 10 dome...

BACKGROUND Rapamycin (sirolimus)-eluting stents are associated with reduced restenosis rates in animal studies and initial human trials. The present study evaluated whether orally administered everolimus (a macrolide of the same family as sirolimus) inhibits in-stent neointimal growth in rabbit iliac arteries. METHODS AND RESULTS New Zealand white rabbits were randomized to everolimus 1.5 mg/...

BACKGROUND Paclitaxel can inhibit vascular smooth muscle proliferation in vitro, and early studies suggest that paclitaxel may be useful in preventing restenosis. Early and late intimal growth and local vascular pathological changes associated with paclitaxel delivered via stents have not been fully explored. METHODS AND RESULTS Localized drug delivery was accomplished with balloon-expandable...

Fowl (males more than females) show maturation-dependent rises in blood pressure (BP) and formation of neointimal plaques (NPs), resembling balloon catheter injury-induced neointima, in the abdominal aorta (AbA) just above the bifurcation. The plaque comprises neointimal cells containing abundant endoplasmic reticulum and extracellular matrix. Hence, we investigated whether rapid incremental BP...

Platinum-containing stents are commonly used in humans with hypercholesterolemia, whereas preclinical stent evaluation has been performed healthy animal models, providing inadequate information about performance under hypercholesterolemic conditions. In this investigation, we an ApoE−/− mouse model to test the impact of hypercholesterolemia on neointima formation platinum-containing implants. W...