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Updated: Mar 28, 2026
Mouse Models for Graft Arteriosclerosis
Published on: May 14, 2013
Association between the vasa vasorum and the atherosclerotic changes in cardiac allograft vasculopathy: volumetric
Kyoung-Ha Park1, Taek-Geun Kwon2, Yasushi Matsuzawa2
1Division of Cardiovascular Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN, USA Division of Cardiovascular Disease, Hallym University Medical Center, Anyang, Korea.
Insights
Vasa vasorum (VV) volume predicts cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) progression after heart transplantation (HTX). Targeting VV may offer a new therapeutic strategy to attenuate CAV development.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Research
- Transplantation Immunology
- Vascular Biology
Background:
- Cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) is a major cause of late graft loss after heart transplantation (HTX).
- The role of vasa vasorum (VV) in CAV progression remains incompletely understood.
- Identifying novel predictors and therapeutic targets for CAV is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between vasa vasorum (VV) volume and the progression of cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) in heart transplant recipients.
- To determine if VV can serve as a predictor for CAV development.
- To explore VV as a potential therapeutic target for CAV.
Main Methods:
- Nineteen heart transplant (HTX) patients were studied using intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and optical coherence tomography (OCT).
- Vasa vasorum (VV) volume (%VV) was assessed in specific arterial segments.
- The change in plaque volume (%PV) over one year was measured, and its correlation with baseline %VV was analyzed.
Main Results:
- A significant positive correlation was found between baseline VV volume and the subsequent progression of plaque volume in both CAV and VV areas.
- Multivariable analysis confirmed that %VV was the sole significant predictor of plaque volume change.
- These findings highlight the critical role of VV in CAV pathogenesis.
Conclusions:
- Increased vasa vasorum (VV) volume is significantly associated with the progression of plaque volume in cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV).
- VV volume may serve as a valuable predictor for CAV progression post-heart transplantation (HTX).
- Targeting VV presents a potential therapeutic strategy to mitigate CAV development.
Aims:
The current study was designed to test that vasa vasorum (VV) plays a role in the progression of cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) in patients with heart transplantation (HTX).
Methods And Results:
Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) were performed in the left anterior descending artery in 19 segments of 19 HTX patients (median 2.1 years from HTX). Each segment is composed of both the continuous lesions: (i) CAV area: intimal thickness >0.5 mm with 5 mm length and (ii) VV area: intimal thickness ≤0.5 mm with 5 mm length. The per cent VV volume (VV volume/vessel volume × 100, %VV) was evaluated in the VV area with OCT (in CAV area VV cannot be assessed because of limited penetration power of OCT). A year later, the association between the baseline %VV and the change in per cent plaque volume (plaque volume/vessel volume × 100, %PV) was evaluated with IVUS. To a normal distribution, Δ%PV (follow-up %PV-initial %PV) was undergone square root transformation. The correlations between the %VV at baseline study and square root-Δ%PV were significant both in the CAV area and in the VV area (r = 0.787, P < 0.001 and r = 0.701, P < 0.001, respectively). In multivariable analysis, only the %VV was significantly correlated with square root-Δ%PV in both areas.
Conclusion:
The current study demonstrated a significant association between the VV volume and the progression of plaque volume in both the CAV area and the VV area. Thus, VV may be a potential predictor and possible therapeutic target to attenuate CAV.
