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Nicotine Administration Augments Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Progression in Rats
Hana Hadzikadunic1,2, Tea Bøvling Sjælland1,2, Jes S Lindholt1,3
1Elitary Research Centre of Individualized Treatment for Arterial Disease (CIMA), Odense University Hospital, University of Southern Denmark, 5000 Odense, Denmark.
Biomedicines
|May 27, 2023
Summary
Low-dose nicotine unexpectedly accelerated abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) progression in rats. This study suggests nicotine administration is not beneficial for preventing AAA expansion, despite its anti-inflammatory pathways.
Area of Science:
- Vascular Biology
- Pharmacology
- Inflammation Research
Background:
- Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) are characterized by inflammation and elastin degradation.
- The cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway (CAP), activated by alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (α7nAChRs), is known to reduce inflammation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effect of low-dose nicotine on the progression of elastase-induced AAAs in rats.
- To determine if nicotine's anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative stress properties could prevent AAA expansion.
Main Methods:
- Male Sprague-Dawley rats underwent surgical AAA induction using elastase infusion.
- Rats were treated with either vehicle or low-dose nicotine (1.25 mg/kg/day).
- Aneurysm progression was monitored via ultrasound for 28 days; tissue analysis included gelatin zymography, elastin content assessment, inflammatory cell counts, cytokine mRNA levels, and proteomics.
Main Results:
- Nicotine treatment significantly promoted AAA expansion (p = 0.031).
- Nicotine reduced pro-matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) 2 and MMP9 activity in aneurysmal tissue.
- No significant differences were observed in elastin degradation, inflammatory cell infiltration, or cytokine/anti-oxidative stress marker mRNA levels between groups.
Conclusions:
- Low-dose nicotine (1.25 mg/kg/day) augments AAA expansion in a rat elastase model.
- These findings do not support the use of low-dose nicotine for preventing AAA progression.
