Juichi Fukuyama (1), Kiyoshi Ichikawa (1,*), Keiji Miyazawa (1), Shuichiro Hamano (1), Nobuo Shibata (2) and Arao Ujiie (1)
(1) Pharmacological Laboratories and (2) Second Laboratories, Kissei Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Hotaka, Nagano 399-83, Japan (*) To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract: Intimal hyperplasia is a serious problem after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA). In this study, we investigated the effects of tranilast on intimal hyperplasia in both in vivo and in vitro experiments. For the in vivo experiments, we used the balloon injury model and the cuff treatment model of rabbits fed regular chow. In the balloon injury model, tranilast decreased intimal area, intima/media ratio, stenosis ratio and vascular DNA content after endothelial injury. Also in the cuff treatment model, tranilast suppressed the intimal hyperplasia. In the in vitro experiments, we assessed the effects of tranilast on platelet-derived growth factor-induced rabbit vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) migration and proliferation and on collagen synthesis by VSMCs. Tranilast inhibited VSMC migration, proliferation and collagen synthesis. These results suggest that tranilast has a suppressive effect on intimal hyperplasia after a vascular injury such as PTCA.
Keywords:
Tranilast, Intimal hyperplasia, Balloon injury, Cuff treatment, Vascular smooth muscle cell