Open AccessAdventitial Vasa Vasorum Arteriosclerosis in Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm
Author(s) -
Hiroki Tanaka,
Nobuhiro Zaima,
Takeshi Sasaki,
Takahiro Hayasaka,
Naoko GotoInoue,
Kenji Onoue,
Koji Ikegami,
Yoshifumi Morita,
Naoto Yamamoto,
Yoko Mano,
Masaki Sano,
Takaaki Saito,
Kohji Sato,
Hiroyuki Konno,
Mitsutoshi Setou,
Naoki Unno
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0057398
Subject(s) - vasa vasorum , abdominal aortic aneurysm , medicine , stenosis , aortic aneurysm , thrombus , aneurysm , intimal hyperplasia , arteriosclerosis , pathophysiology , adventitia , anatomy , cardiology , pathology , aorta , radiology , smooth muscle
Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a common disease among elderly individuals. However, the precise pathophysiology of AAA remains unknown. In AAA, an intraluminal thrombus prevents luminal perfusion of oxygen, allowing only the adventitial vaso vasorum (VV) to deliver oxygen and nutrients to the aortic wall. In this study, we examined changes in the adventitial VV wall in AAA to clarify the histopathological mechanisms underlying AAA. We found marked intimal hyperplasia of the adventitial VV in the AAA sac; further, immunohistological studies revealed proliferation of smooth muscle cells, which caused luminal stenosis of the VV. We also found decreased HemeB signals in the aortic wall of the sac as compared with those in the aortic wall of the neck region in AAA. The stenosis of adventitial VV in the AAA sac and the malperfusion of the aortic wall observed in the present study are new aspects of AAA pathology that are expected to enhance our understanding of this disease.