1. Doxorubicin induces arterial stiffness: A comprehensive in vivo and ex vivo evaluation of vascular toxicity in mice.
- Author
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Bosman M, Favere K, Neutel CHG, Jacobs G, De Meyer GRY, Martinet W, Van Craenenbroeck EM, and Guns PDF
- Subjects
- Animals, Aorta drug effects, Aorta pathology, Doxorubicin administration & dosage, Drug Tapering, Endothelial Cells drug effects, Endothelium, Vascular drug effects, Endothelium, Vascular physiology, Male, Mice, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Nitric Oxide metabolism, Vasodilation drug effects, Antibiotics, Antineoplastic toxicity, Doxorubicin toxicity, Vascular Stiffness drug effects
- Abstract
Arterial stiffness is an important predictor of cardiovascular risk. Clinical studies have demonstrated that arterial stiffness increases in cancer patients treated with the chemotherapeutic doxorubicin (DOX). However, the mechanisms of DOX-induced arterial stiffness remain largely unknown. This study aimed to evaluate artery stiffening in DOX-treated mice using in vivo and ex vivo techniques. Male C57BL/6J mice were treated for 2 weeks with 2 mg/kg (low dose) or 4 mg/kg (high dose) of DOX weekly. Arterial stiffness was assessed in vivo with ultrasound imaging (abdominal aorta pulse wave velocity (aaPWV)) and applanation tonometry (carotid-femoral PWV) combined with ex vivo vascular stiffness and reactivity evaluation. The high dose increased aaPWV, while cfPWV did not reach statistical significance. Phenylephrine (PE)-contracted aortic segments showed a higher Peterson's modulus (Ep) in the high dose group, while Ep did not differ when vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) were relaxed by a NO donor (DEANO). In addition, aortic rings of DOX-treated mice showed increased PE contraction, decreased basal nitric oxide (NO) index and impaired acetylcholine-induced endothelium-dependent relaxation. DOX treatment contributed to endothelial cell loss and reduced endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) expression in the aorta. In conclusion, we have replicated DOX-induced arterial stiffness in a murine model and this aortic stiffness is driven by impaired endothelial function, contributing to increased vascular tone., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2021
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