3-nitrotyrosine and Intracranial-Aneurysm

Although elevated hemodynamics has been speculated to play a key role in intracranial aneurysm (IA) initiation, little is known about the specific hemodynamic microenvironment that triggers aneurysmal vascular degradation. We previously demonstrated maladaptive remodeling characteristic of IA initiation occurring in hemodynamic regions of combined high wall shear stress (WSS) and high WSS gradient near the apex of an experimentally created carotid bifurcation. This study examines whether this remodeling recapitulates the molecular changes found in IAs and whether molecular changes also correspond to specific hemodynamic environments.. De novo bifurcations were surgically created using both native common carotid arteries in each of 6 dogs. Bifurcations were imaged 2 weeks or 2 months after surgery by high-resolution 3-dimensional angiography, from which flow fields were obtained by computational fluid dynamics simulations. Subsequently, harvested tissues, demonstrating early aneurysmal changes near the apex, were immunostained for interleukin-1beta, endothelial and inducible nitric oxide synthases, nitrotyrosine, and matrix metalloproteinase-2 and -9. Spatial distributions of these molecules were comapped with computational fluid dynamics results.. The aneurysmal wall showed decreased endothelial nitric oxide synthase expression compared with surrounding segments, the feeding artery, and native controls, whereas all other markers increased. Anti-CD68 staining indicated the absence of inflammatory cells in the aneurysmal wall. Comapping molecular marker distributions with flow fields revealed confinement of these molecular changes within the hemodynamic region of high WSS and high, positive WSS gradient.. Aneurysm-initiating remodeling induced by combined high WSS and high, positive WSS gradient is associated with molecular changes implicated in IAs.

Topics: Analysis of Variance; Animals; Carotid Artery, Common; Disease Models, Animal; Dogs; Female; Gene Expression Regulation; Hemodynamics; Intracranial Aneurysm; Magnetic Resonance Angiography; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Matrix Metalloproteinase 2; Matrix Metalloproteinase 9; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III; Stress, Mechanical; Time Factors; Tyrosine

Activation of the renin-angiotensin (Ang)-aldosterone system is involved in the pathology of vascular diseases. Although the blockade of the mineralocorticoid receptor protects against vascular diseases, its role in cerebral aneurysms remains to be elucidated. We treated female rats subjected to renal hypertension, increased hemodynamic stress, and estrogen deficiency for 3 months with the mineralocorticoid receptor blocker eplerenone (30 or 100 mg/kg per day) or vehicle (vehicle control). Eplerenone reduced the incidence of cerebral aneurysms and saline intake without lowering of the blood pressure. In the aneurysmal wall, the production of Ang II and nitrotyrosine was increased. The mRNA levels of Ang-converting enzyme 1 and NADPH oxidase subunits NOX4, Rac1, monocyte chemoattractant protein 1, and matrix metalloproteinase 9 were increased. Eplerenone brought about a reduction in these molecules, suggesting that mineralocorticoid receptor blockade suppresses cerebral aneurysm formation by inhibiting oxidative stress, inflammatory factors, local renin-Ang system activation, and saline intake. Other female rats implanted with pellets of the mineralocorticoid receptor agonist deoxycorticosterone acetate manifested a high incidence of cerebral aneurysm formation and the upregulation of molecules related to oxidative stress, inflammatory factors, and the local renin-Ang system; their saline intake was increased. We demonstrate that mineralocorticoid receptor activation at least partly contributes to the pathogenesis of cerebral aneurysms.

Topics: Aldosterone; Angiotensin II; Animals; Blood Pressure; Cerebral Arteries; Chemokine CCL2; Eplerenone; Female; Gene Expression; Hypertension, Renal; Immunohistochemistry; Intracranial Aneurysm; Mineralocorticoid Receptor Antagonists; NADPH Oxidases; Ovariectomy; Oxidative Stress; Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Receptors, Mineralocorticoid; Renin-Angiotensin System; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; RNA, Messenger; Spironolactone; Tyrosine

Cerebral saccular aneurysm is a major cause of subarachnoid hemorrhage, one of the cerebrovascular diseases with the highest mortality. The mechanisms underlying the development of aneurysms, however, still remain unclear. We have made a series of reports on an animal model of experimentally induced cerebral aneurysms that resemble human cerebral aneurysms in their location and morphology, suggesting that the arterial wall degeneration associated with aneurysm formation develops near the apex of arterial bifurcation as a result of an increase in wall shear stress. Using the animal model and human specimens, we examined the role of nitric oxide (NO) in the degenerative changes and cerebral aneurysm formation.. Inducible NO synthase (iNOS) was immunohistochemically located at the orifice of human and rat aneurysms. Nitrotyrosine distribution was also seen in the human aneurysm. Although no iNOS immunostaining was found in normal arteries, iNOS immunoreactivity was observed in parallel with the development of early aneurysmal changes in rats. In contrast, during the early development of aneurysm, endothelial NOS immunostaining in the endothelium was weakened compared with that in the control arteries. An NOS inhibitor, aminoguanidine, attenuated both early aneurysmal changes and the incidence of induced aneurysms. A defibrinogenic agent, batroxobin, which may diminish shear stress by reduction of blood viscosity, prevented iNOS induction as well as early aneurysmal changes.. The evidence suggests that NO, particularly that derived from iNOS, is a key requirement for the development of cerebral aneurysm. The iNOS induction may be caused by an increase in shear stress near the apex.

Topics: Animals; Batroxobin; Enzyme Induction; Guanidines; Humans; Immunohistochemistry; Intracranial Aneurysm; Male; Nitric Oxide; Nitric Oxide Synthase; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Tyrosine