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Updated: Jun 30, 2025
Adult Mouse Venous Hypertension Model: Common Carotid Artery to External Jugular Vein Anastomosis.
Published on: January 27, 2015
A central arteriovenous fistula reduces systemic hypertension in a mouse model
Anand Brahmandam1,2, Rafael Alves1, Hao Liu1,3
1Vascular Biology and Therapeutics Program, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.
Objective:
A central arteriovenous fistula (AVF) has been proposed as a potential novel solution to treat patients with refractory hypertension. We hypothesized that venous remodeling after AVF creation in the hypertensive environment reduces systemic blood pressure but results in increased AVF wall thickness compared with remodeling in the normotensive environment.
Methods:
A central AVF was performed in C57BL6/J mice previously made hypertensive with angiotensin II (Ang II); mice were sacrificed on postoperative day 7 or 21.
Results:
In mice treated with Ang II alone, the mean systolic blood pressure increased from 90 ± 5 mmHg to 160 ± 5 mmHg at day 21; however, in mice treated with both Ang II and an AVF, the blood pressure decreased with creation of an AVF. There were significantly more PCNA-positive cells, SM22α/PCNA-positive cells, collagen I deposition, and increased Krüppel-like Factor 2 immunoreactivity in hypertensive mice with an AVF compared with normotensive mice with an AVF.
Conclusions:
These data show that a central AVF decreases systemic hypertension as well as induces local alterations in venous remodeling.
