Character and mechanisms of changes in vascular wall reactivity in prolonged hypercholesterolemia

Changes in the structure and functional properties of the vascular wall after 8 months of alimentary hypercholesterolemia (HCE) were studied. The experiments were conducted on the circular bands of the arch of the aorta in rabbits. Sharp inhibition of the reactivity of the vascular bands was established, which was associated first of all with thickening of the intima due to the development of fibro-atheromatous changes in it. At the same time, the smooth-muscle cells of the vascular wall maintained marked reactivity to various direct and receptor-mediated test effects. The functional significance of the endothelium in regulation of the vascular tonus, manifested by weakened endothelium-dependent relaxation, was sharply inhibited in the late stages of HCE. It is shown that reduction of the sensitivity of the smooth-muscle cells to the endothelium-dependent relaxation factor is the principal factor of weakening of the endothelium-dependent dilatational effects. After 8 months of HCE the aortic wall is capable of liberating a substance which is similar to the endothelium-dependent relaxation factor in its action, even when the thickened intima is completely removed.