The biochemical composition of haemodynamically-stressed vascular tissue. Part 2. The concentrations of protein and connective tissue components in the salt extracts of experimental arteriovenous fistulae.

Arteriovenous fistulae were fashioned between the right external jugular vein and the right common carotid artery in seven experimental sheep, which were then grazed for periods up to 4.25 years. Since the morphological changes in the tissue resemble human atherosclerosis, some of the changes in the extractable protein components in this model were studied. In the experimental venous tissue there was a 1.5-2.5 fold increase in salt-soluble protein. The concentration of extractable collagen was 1.5 times higher in the salt extracts of the experimental veins. The concentration of elastin in the extracts from experimental venous tissue was higher than for the sham-operated veins but the experimental arteries yielded lower levels than the contralateral arteries.