Connective Tissue Accumulation in the Left Coronary Artery of Young SHR

• Published in: Hypertension (Dallas, Tex. 1979) Vol. 6; no. 4; pp. 526 - 529
• Main Authors: ANVERSA, PIERO, MELISSARI, MASSIMO, TARDINI, ARMANDO, OLIVETTI, GIORGIO
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Philadelphia, PA American Heart Association, Inc 01-07-1984; Hagerstown, MD Lippincott
• Subjects: Aging; Animals; Arterial hypertension. Arterial hypotension; Arteries; Biological and medical sciences; Blood and lymphatic vessels; Blood Pressure; Cardiology. Vascular system; Connective Tissue - metabolism; Coronary Vessels - metabolism; Coronary Vessels - pathology; Coronary Vessels - ultrastructure; Experimental diseases; Hypertension - metabolism; Hypertension - pathology; Medical sciences; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular - ultrastructure; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains; Hypertension; Connective tissue; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Rat; Rodentia; Left coronary artery; Hereditary
• DOI: 10.1161/01.HYP.6.4.526
• EISSN: 1524-4563
• ISSN: 0194-911X

The left coronary artery of 21-, 28-, and 45-day-old spontaneously hypertensive rats and Wistar-Kyoto rats was analyzed morphometrically to evaluate the structural alterations of the vessel wall during the development of genetically determined hypertension. In 45-day-old rats, hypertension was associated with a significant expansion of the partial volume of collagen and ground substance (119%) within the arterial wall. This change exceeded the concurrent accumulation of elastin (77%) and smooth muscle cell mass (34%). The growth of the muscle compartment was also characterized by a marked increment of rough endoplasmic reticulum (103%). The increase in the mural concentration of fibrous proteins at this early age may be viewed as the initial adverse effect of hypertension on muscular arteries.