Animal models of restenosis

Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty is a widely used technique for recanalizing arteries that are occluded by atherosclerotic plaque, but its usefulness is limited by the occurrence ofrestenosis in a high proportion of patients. The development of new therapies for this currently intractable problem will be facilitated by the use of animal models of restenosis that are predictive of drug efficacy in humans. Two approaches for improving predictivity can be identified. In the first of these, the goal is to maximize the anatomical and procedural resemblance of the model to humans. The second approach seeks to maximize the pathophysiological and molecular biological resemblance of the model to humans. Tangible progress is being made toward the first goal, but lack of understanding of the basic biology of human restenosis is hampering progress toward the second.