Serial in vivo MRI documents arterial remodeling in experimental atherosclerosis

Arterial remodeling in response to atherosclerosis may be outward (positive) or inward (negative) and is an important mechanism in the clinical manifestations of atherosclerosis and restenosis after percutaneous coronary interventions. Postmortem and intravascular ultrasound studies of arterial remodeling do not allow serial and noninvasive data to be obtained. In a rabbit model of atherosclerosis, we sought to validate MRI as a new tool for documentation of arterial remodeling.

Watanabe heritable hyperlipidemic rabbits underwent serial MRI at baseline and 6 months after aortic balloon denudation. The lumen area had a small but significant (P=0.006) increase, from 4.36+/-0.16 to 4. 89+/-0.12 mm(2). There was a large, significant (P<0.0001) increase in the outer wall area, from 7.96+/-0.19 to 10.46+/-0.19 mm(2). The vessel wall area (a marker of atherosclerotic burden) increased significantly (P<0.0001), from 3.61+/-0.07 to 5.57+/-0.09 mm(2). Thus, the increase in atherosclerotic burden over time was completely accounted for by positive arterial remodeling. The subgroup used for histopathological validation confirmed a significant (P<0.0001) agreement between histopathology and MRI for assessment of all 3 parameters.

MRI can provide serial and noninvasive data about the arterial wall, allowing assessment of arterial remodeling in this rabbit model. Thus, MRI appears to be a useful tool for the investigation of arterial remodeling both in native atherosclerosis and after percutaneous coronary intervention.