Dependence of arterial remodeling on locally altered blood pressure

Two experimental models were used to study the effect of locally altered blood pressure on the remodeling of the cells and extracellular matrices of the splenic and ileal arteries. In the first model, the abdominal aorta was surgically constricted at a location between the celiac and mesenteric arterial bifurcations, which resulted in a higher increase in the blood pressure at the splenic arteries than that at the ileal arteries. In the second, the aorta was constricted at a location between the mesenteric and renal arterial bifurcations, which resulted in an identical change in the blood pressure in both arteries. The amount of the geometry of the intima, smooth muscle cells, fibroblasts, collagen bundles and elastic laminae of the splenic and ileal arteries were measured at scheduled times by electron microscopy. This model allows the study of arterial remodeling in response to different levels of blood pressure in similar arteries of the same animal and to determine whether the remodeling processes are dependent on the local blood pressure.