Cyclosporine A inhibits intima proliferation of rat abdominal aortas injured by balloon

AIM: To observe the effect of cyclosporine A on intima hyperplasia of rat abdominal aortas injured by balloon.METHODS: Thirty-six healthy adult male SD rats were randomly divided into 3 groups: sham group (n=12), balloon-injured group (n=12) and cyclosporine A treatment group (n=12).From the 3rd day before injury to the 30th day after injury, the rats in cyclosporine A treatment group were treated with cyclosporine A at a dose of 12.5 mg/kg everyday, while the rats in sham group and balloon-injured group were fed with the same volume of water.On the 30th day after injury, the specimens were obtained from the rats.HE staining and immunohistochemistry were used to measure the expression level of calcineurin (CaN) in arterial wall.Pathological changes of the arterial wall were observed under light microscope.The expression of CaN and nuclear factor 3 of activated T-cells(NFATc3) in the abdominal aortas was detected by the technique of real-time PCR.RESULTS: Intimal hyperplasia was observed in balloon-injured rats.The neointima was not uniform in thickness on the 30th day.The thickness of the intimal layers and the ratio of the intimal to the medial layers in cyclosporine A group were obviously lower than those in balloon group(P<0.05).Immunohistochemistry revealed that calcineurin expression increased after balloon injury, but the expression of calcineurin in cyclosporine A group was obviously decreased as compared with balloon group (P<0.05).The results of real-time PCR showed that the mRNA expression of calcineurin and NFATc3 in cyclosporine A group was significantly lower than that in balloon-injured group (P<0.05).CONCLUSION: Cyclosporine A attenuates restenosis by suppressing the CaN-NFATc signaling pathway.