Supplementary Material for: A New Arteriovenous Fistula Model to Study the Development of Neointimal Hyperplasia

This study describes an alternative arteriovenous fistula (AVF) model in the rat in which the animals develop significant neointimal hyperplasia (NIH) not only at the distal anastomotic site, but also throughout the fistula body. This aortocaval fistula was established by anastomosing the distal end of the renal vein to the abdominal aorta after unilateral nephrectomy. The increased hemodynamic stress resulting from exposing the renal vein to the arterial circulation induced venous NIH as early as 7 days after surgery. This experimental AVF was characterized by the early lack of endothelium, the accumulation of proliferating vascular smooth muscle cells and the neovascularization of the fistula adventitia. In summary, we have described an informative animal model to study the pathobiology of NIH in native AVF.本研究报道了一种新型大鼠动静脉瘘（arteriovenous fistula, AVF）模型，该模型中实验动物不仅在远端吻合部位出现显著的内膜增生（neointimal hyperplasia, NIH），且瘘管全程均可观察到该病变。该主动脉腔静脉瘘模型的构建方式为：在单侧肾切除术后，将肾静脉远端与腹主动脉进行吻合。肾静脉暴露于动脉循环环境所引发的增强型血流动力学应激，可在术后7天即诱导静脉内膜增生。此实验性动静脉瘘的特征包括早期内皮细胞缺失、增殖性血管平滑肌细胞聚集，以及瘘管外膜的新生血管形成。综上，本研究报道了一种可用于研究天然动静脉瘘内膜增生病理生物学机制的实用动物模型。