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Effect of Diet and Age on Arterial Stiffening Due to Atherosclerosis in ApoE−/− Mice

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Abstract

This work analyzes the progressive stiffening of the aorta due to atherosclerosis development of both ApoE−/− and C57BL/6J mice fed on a Western (n = 5) and a normal (n = 5) chow diet for the ApoE−/− group and on a normal chow diet (n = 5) for the C57BL/6J group. Sets of 5 animals from the three groups were killed after 10, 20, 30 and 40 weeks on their respective diets (corresponding to 17, 27, 37 and 47 weeks of age). Mechanical properties (inflation test and axial residual stress measurements) and histological properties were compared for both strains, ApoE−/− on the hyper-lipidic diet and both ApoE−/− and C57BL/6J on the normal diet, after the same period and after different periods of diet. The results indicated that the aorta stiffness in the ApoE−/− and C57BL/6J mice under normal diet remained approximately constant irrespective of their age. However, the arterial stiffness in the ApoE−/− on the hyper-lipidic diet increased over time. Statistical differences were found between the group after 10 weeks and the groups after 30 and 40 weeks of a hyper-lipidic diet. Comparing the hyper-lipidic and normal diet mice, statistical differences were also found between both diets in all cases after 40 weeks of diet, frequently after 30 weeks, and in some cases after 20 weeks. The early stages of lesion corresponded to the first 2 weeks of diet. Advanced lesions were found at 30 weeks and, finally, the aorta was completely damaged after 40 weeks of diet. In conclusion, we found substantial changes in the mechanical properties of the aorta walls of the ApoE−/− mice fed with the hyper-lipidic diet compared to the normal chow diet groups for both the ApoE−/− and C57BL/6J groups. These findings could serve as a reference for the study of changes in the arterial wall properties in cases of atherosclerosis.

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Acknowledgments

Support from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through the research projects DPI2013-44391-P and PRI-AIBDE-2011-1216, the Department of Industry and Innovation (Government of Aragon) through the research group Grant T88 (Fondo Social Europeo) and from the University of Zaragoza through the research project UZ2008-BIO-21 is highly appreciated. The experimental tests have been performed by the ICTS “NANBIOSIS”, more specifically by the Tissue & Scaffold Characterization Unit (U13) of the CIBER in Bioengineering, Biomaterials & Nanomedicne (CIBER-BBN at the University of Zaragoza.

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  1. M. Cilla

    Present address: Centro Universitario de la Defensa Zaragoza, Academia General Militar, Zaragoza, Spain

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Julius Wolff Institut, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    M. Cilla

  2. Mechanical Engineering Department, Aragón Institute of Engineering Research (I3A), University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain

    E. Peña & M. A. Martínez

  3. Aragon Health Sciences Institute, CIBER de Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina (CIBER-BBN), Zaragoza, Spain

    E. Peña & M. A. Martínez

  4. Department of Anatomy, Embryology and Genetics, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain

    M. M. Pérez

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  1. M. Cilla
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Correspondence to E. Peña.

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Associate Editor Umberto Morbiducci oversaw the review of this article.

M. Cilla and M. M. Pérez have contributed equally to this work.

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Cilla, M., Pérez, M.M., Peña, E. et al. Effect of Diet and Age on Arterial Stiffening Due to Atherosclerosis in ApoE−/− Mice. Ann Biomed Eng 44, 2202–2217 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-015-1486-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-015-1486-1

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