Effects of rosiglitazone on contralateral iliac artery after vascular injury in hypercholesterolemic rabbits

Olímpio Ribeiro França Neto , Dalton Bertolim Precoma , Alexandre Alessi , Camila Prim , Ruy Fernando Kuenzer Caetano da Silva , Lucia de Noronha and Liz Andréa Villela Baroncini

Center of Health and Biological Sciences-Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná, Rua Imaculada Conceição, 1155, Prado Velho, CEP: 80215-901 Curitiba- Paraná –, Brazil

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Thrombosis Journal 2008, 6:4doi:10.1186/1477-9560-6-4


Published:	16 May 2008

Abstract

Background

The objective was to evaluate the effects of rosiglitazone on iliac arteries of hypercholesterolemic rabbits undergoing balloon catheter injury in the contralateral iliac arteries.

Methods

White male rabbits were fed a hypercholesterolemic diet for 6 weeks and divided into two groups as follows: rosiglitazone group, 14 rabbits treated with rosiglitazone (3 mg/Kg body weight/day) during 6 weeks; and control group, 18 rabbits without rosiglitazone treatment. All animals underwent balloon catheter injury of the right iliac artery on the fourteenth day of the experiment.

Results

There was no significant difference in intima/media layer area ratio between the control group and the rosiglitazone group. Rosiglitazone did not reduce the probability of lesions types I, II, or III (72.73% vs. 92.31%; p = 0.30) and types IV or V (27.27% vs. 7.69%; p = 0.30). There were no differences in the extent of collagen type I and III deposition or in the percentage of animals with macrophages in the intima layer. The percentage of rabbits with smooth muscle cells in the intima layer was higher in rosiglitazone group (p = 0.011).

Conclusion

These findings demonstrate that rosiglitazone given for 6 weeks did not prevent atherogenesis at a vessel distant from the injury site.