Emergency Department, Capital Medical University Affiliated Anzhen Hospital, Beijing, China.
Department of Cardiology of Second Affiliated Hospital of Qiqihaer Medical Collage, Qiqihar, Heilongjiang, People's Republic of China.
Microsc Res Tech. 2022 Oct;85(10):3411-3417. doi: 10.1002/jemt.24196. Epub 2022 Jul 8.
Atherosclerosis is characterized by the infiltration of macrophages, accumulation of lipids, activation of endothelial cells and synthesis of extracellular matrix by vascular smooth muscle cells. However, there have been few atomic force microscopy (AFM) studies of the aortic intima in situ in the context of atherosclerosis. By employing a customized liquid cell for AFM, we investigated the aortic intima obtained from male C57BL/6 ApoE-deficient mice (ApoE ) aged 14 weeks and male C57BL/6 ApoE-sufficient mice (ApoE ) aged between 18 and 26 weeks that were fed a high-fat and high-cholesterol diet for 4 weeks and performed force spectroscopy mapping of the biomechanical properties of the intima. In the aortas of ApoE-deficient mice, the intima became stiffer than that of ApoE-sufficient mice. In addition, the cytoskeleton of endothelial cells was enlarged, and extracellular matrix accumulated. The biomechanical properties of the aortic intima are altered in early atherogenesis, which may be induced by the enlargement of the endothelial cell cytoskeleton and the increased synthesis of extracellular matrix by activated smooth muscle cells.
动脉粥样硬化的特征是巨噬细胞浸润、脂质堆积、内皮细胞激活以及血管平滑肌细胞合成细胞外基质。然而，在动脉粥样硬化背景下，对原位主动脉内膜进行原子力显微镜（AFM）研究的情况较少。通过使用定制的 AFM 液体池，我们研究了来自 14 周龄雄性 C57BL/6 ApoE 缺陷型（ApoE ）小鼠和 18-26 周龄雄性 C57BL/6 ApoE 充足型（ApoE ）小鼠的主动脉内膜，这些小鼠在高脂肪和高胆固醇饮食中喂养了 4 周，并对动脉内膜的生物力学特性进行了力谱图测绘。在 ApoE 缺陷型小鼠的主动脉中，内膜变得比 ApoE 充足型小鼠的更硬。此外，内皮细胞的细胞骨架增大，细胞外基质积累。在动脉粥样硬化早期形成过程中，主动脉内膜的生物力学特性发生改变，这可能是由内皮细胞细胞骨架的增大以及激活的平滑肌细胞合成细胞外基质增加引起的。
