AGE EFFECTS ON ARTERIAL AXIAL STIFFNESS IN WILD TYPE AND DIABETIC MICE

摘要

Our results suggest that changes in axial stiffness of large elastic arteries as a function of age and diabetes are distinct from previouslyreported trends in circumferential stiffness. At stretch values small enough to avoid inducing permanent damage to the vessel (<60%), we observed a pronounced, unexpected drop in stiffness at 6 months of age in diabetic mice, which was absent in wild type controls. Although adventitial collagen content might be expected to influence longitudinal stiffness, our results to date do not demonstrate a strict correspondence between collagen content as measured by histology and the longitudinal stiffness parameter. Future work will examine the possibility that collagen cross-linking rather than total collagen content plays a more important role in controlling axial stiffness in aged, diabetic mice.