Omental arteriole remodeling and related protein expression in hypertensive patients

AIM: To study the pathological changes, adverse remodeling and related protein expression of omental arteriole in hypertensive patients. METHODS: Twelve non-hypertensive persons and 12 hypertensive patients were selected, and the hemorheology and morphological changes of their omental arterioles were detected. The protein expression of Bcl-2, Bax, c-Myc, c-Fos, MMP-9 and TIMP-2 in the arterioles of omental tissues was determined by the method of immunohistochemistry. The changes of collagen content in omental arterioles were observed by Masson staining. RESULTS: Compared with the non-hypertensive persons, the hemorheological abnormalities, increased omental arteriole collagen deposition, widened mid layer thickness/lumenal diameter ratio and enhanced protein expression of Bcl-2, Bax, c-Myc, c-Fos, MMP-9 and TIMP-2 were observed in hypertensive patients. CONCLUSION: The pathological damage and adverse remodeling exist in omental arterioles of hypertensive patients. The mechanism may be related with the hymodynamic of hypertension, hemorheological abnormalities, imbalanced expression of Bcl-2, Bax, MMP-9 and TIMP-2, and concerned with the over-expression of c-Myc and c-Fos in the arteriolar wall.