Abstract
Local stiffness of living endothelial cells in the abdominal aorta and in the medial and lateral wall of aortic bifurcations obtained from rabbits fed 1% cholesterol diet were determined by means of an atomic force microscope (AFM). The stiffness of endothelial cells located apart from atherosclerotic plaques was comparable to control level in normal diet-fed rabbits, at the three locations; it was higher in the medial wall than in the other regions. The stiffness of endothelial cells in the medial wall was lower on atherosclerotic plaques than in the locations away from plaques, although it was not different between the two locations both in the abdominal aorta and the lateral wall. These results are attributable to the disorganization of stress fibers in endothelial cells in the medial wall induced by the development of atherosclerosis.
