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Updated: Mar 24, 2026
Measuring the Stiffness of Ex Vivo Mouse Aortas Using Atomic Force Microscopy
Published on: October 19, 2016
Stiffness of Intact Endothelial Cells From Fresh Aortic Bifurcations of Atherosclerotic Rabbits-Atomic Force
Kozaburo Hayashi1,2, Michitaka Higaki3
1Department of Mechanical Science and Bioengineering, Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka, Osaka, Japan. kozaburohayashi@gmail.com.
Abstract:
Stiffness of intact endothelial cells (ECs) in the abdominal aorta (AA) and in the medial and lateral wall of the common iliac artery (CIA(Medial) and CIA(Lateral), respectively), which were freshly obtained from cholesterol-fed rabbits, were measured with an atomic force microscopic indentation method. In the areas away from atherosclerotic plaques (Off-plaque), ECs were significantly stiffer in CIA(Medial) than in the other two locations; this result was similar to that from normal diet-fed animals. On the other hand, there were no significant differences in the stiffness of ECs located on atherosclerotic plaques (On-plaque) among the three sites; the stiffness was equal to those in "Off-plaque" wall of CIA(Lateral) and AA. Moreover, the stiffness of ECs covering plaques decreased with the progression of atherosclerosis. The precise quantification of the stiffness of vascular ECs would provide a better understanding of cellular remodeling and adaptation in atherosclerosis. J. Cell. Physiol. 232: 7-13, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
