all- Trans -Retinoic Acid Reduces Neointimal Formation and Promotes Favorable Geometric Remodeling of the Rat Carotid Artery After Balloon Withdrawal Injury

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Abstract
Background —The multifactorial and unpredictable nature of human restenosis will probably necessitate interventional strategies that target multiple processes involved in acute vascular narrowing. Retinoids (eg, all- trans -retinoic acid, atRA) represent a growing class of pleiotropic biological response modifiers with demonstrable efficacy in managing several pathological conditions. In this report, we have initiated studies to examine the hypothesis that atRA limits neointimal formation after experimental vascular injury. Methods and Results —Rats were predosed with atRA (30 mg · kg −1 · d −1 PO) or corn oil 4 days before balloon withdrawal injury (BWI) of the left common carotid artery and continued on this drug regimen for an additional 14 days. High-performance liquid chromatographic analysis documented therapeutic levels of atRA in serum and vascular tissue. atRA depressed peak DNA synthesis in the tunica media of BWI vessels ( P P P Conclusions —atRA reduces neointimal mass and elicits favorable geometric remodeling of the injured rat carotid artery.