A wound-like inflammatory aortic response in chronic portal hypertensive rats

Long-term prehepatic portal hypertension in the rat produces a low-grade splanchnic inflammation with liver steatosis and dyslipidemia. It has been suggested that in this experimental model these inflammatory alterations could represent a risk factor of vascular disease. Therefore, our aim was to investigate whether long-term prehepatic portal hypertension (PH) induces vascular pathology, fundamentally inflammatory aortopathy. Male Wistar sham-operated (SO) rats and rats with triple partial portal vein ligation in the very long-term (22 months) of postoperative evolution were used. Serum lipid profile, pro- and anti- inflammatory cytokines and ACTH and corticosterone were assayed by spectrophotometric and ELISA techniques. Aorta mRNA expression of oxidative and nitrosative stress enzymes, NFκB e IκB, immune-related cytokine production and vascular fibrosis parameters, were evaluated by real time RT-PCR. In addition, aortic p22phox subunit immunostaining, morphometry and vascular fibrosis in aorta were analyzed. PH rats have increased serum cholesterol, triglyceride, low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and very low-density lipoproteins (VLDL), while high-density lipoproteins (HDL) were lower than in SO rats. Serum ACTH and corticosterone decreased in PH rats. Also, serum TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 were significantly higher in PH-rats. Portal hypertensive-rats showed aortic oxidative stress with increased mRNA expressions of NAD(P)H oxidase p22phox, XDh, SOD and eNOS; higher aortic levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6; remodeling markers, like collagen I, CTGF and MMP-9; and finally, higher protein production of p22phox and collagen and extracellular matrix density were significantly higher in rats with PH. The results from the current study suggest that very long-term prehepatic portal hypertension in rats induces an abdominal aortic inflammatory and fibrotic response. Therefore, it could be considered that portal hypertension aggravates aortic inflammaging and one of its more severe complications, which is remodeling by a wound healing reaction.