In addition to elastic recoil and intimal hyperplasia, constrictive arterial remodeling is an important determinant of restenosis after balloon angioplasty (1). Arterial remodeling is a time-dependent phenomenon. In peripheral arteries of pigs, constrictive remodeling starts within days after balloon angioplasty and progresses for as long as 6 weeks of follow-up (2). It is unknown what initiates or maintains this remodeling response. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) belong to a group of zinc- and calcium-dependent proteases and cause breakdown of the extracellular matrix, which is an important feature in arterial remodeling. After balloon angioplasty, a transient increase in MMP activity has been observed (3). In the pig, inhibition of MMP activity with oral administration of MMP inhibitor (BB-2516, Marimastat; British Biotech Pharmaceuticals, Oxford, England) (4) substantially reduces late lumen area (LA) loss after balloon dilation by means of inhibition of constrictive remodeling. BB-2516 has been clinically applied to prove its role as a tumorostatic agent (5). It is well absorbed and has excellent bioavailability. BB-2516 is composed of a synthetic molecule with a molecular weight of 331.42 that is designed to mimic the substrate of MMPs. One substituent of the molecule of BB-2516 is a hydroxamate group that will combine with the zinc atom at the active site of the MMPs. This feature, together with stereochemical aspects in the molecule of BB-2516 that mimic the natural substrate, leads to potent reversible inhibition of the majority of MMPs. A short duration of treatment necessary to inhibit constrictive remodeling may limit potential side effects of MMP inhibitors and is cost-effective (5). However, it is still unknown how long MMP inhibition is needed to block the remodeling process permanently. The purpose of the present study was to determine the minimal duration of oral MMP inhibition to prevent constrictive arterial remodeling after balloon dilation.
Animals Thirty-seven nonatherosclerotic Landrace pigs with an average weight of 22.6 kg ± 2.8 (SD) were included in this study. This population is different from that in our previous study with BB-2516 (4). Balloon dilation was performed bilaterally in femoral and internal iliac arteries; however, it was not performed in two femoral arteries and one internal iliac artery because the balloon catheter could not be advanced owing to extreme vessel tortuosity. All animals were killed 42 days after intervention, except for three of nine pigs that were treated with BB-2516 for 42 days and killed 84 days after intervention to investigate whether a delayed remodeling response would occur. The investigation was approved by the Ethics Committee on Animal Experimentation of the Faculty of Medicine, Utrecht University, the Netherlands. Anesthesia Intervention For balloon dilation, a 2–4-cm long 4–6-mm-diameter standard peripheral balloon catheter (Opta 5; Cordis Endovascular, Warren, NJ) was used. The adequate balloon size was chosen to achieve a balloon-to-artery ratio of approximately 1.2. We performed balloon dilation with the following balloon sizes in 145 peripheral arteries: in 13 arteries, 4-mm-diameter balloon; in 12 arteries, 4.5-mm-diameter balloon; in 53 arteries, 5-mm-diameter balloon; and in 67 arteries, 6-mm-diameter balloon. In the femoral arteries, balloon dilation was performed between the two main side branches near the hip joint. In the internal iliac arteries, the midsegments were dilated with the balloon. The balloon was inflated three times for 1 minute at a pressure of 6–10 atm. After intervention, the right carotid artery was ligated. For adequate pain relief, 10 µg/kg of buprenorphine hydrochloride was intramuscularly injected immediately after intervention and at 2 days afterward. The pigs were prophylactically treated with amoxicillin, starting with 250 mg administered intravenously at intervention (day 0) and thereafter with 375 mg of long-acting medication administered intramuscularly at days 1, 3, and 5. Angiography and Intravascular Ultrasonography MMP Inhibition Data Analysis In each intravascular US scan, LA and vessel area (VA) were measured. In this nonatherosclerotic model, intimal hyperplasia was absent at baseline. VA before and after intervention was, therefore, defined as the outer border of the hypoechoic lumen within the intravascular US scan, and it was equal to LA before and after intervention. At killing, VA was defined as the outer border of the hypoechoic layer behind the hyperechoic intima and therefore represents luminal, intimal, and medial areas. Anatomic landmarks, visualized with angiography and intravascular US, were used to match the image locations at different times. The segment dilated with the balloon was identified by means of comparison with the angiogram, and this finding was confirmed by the existence of acute LA gain, which was defined as the difference between postintervention and preintervention LA. Untreated segments (proximal parts of external iliac arteries, parts proximal and distal to the dilated segments of the femoral arteries, and parts distal to the dilated segments of the internal iliac arteries) were used for correction of growth of all areas by means of the following calculation: 1 - ([mean r2k - mean r2p]/[mean r2p]), where k signifies killing and p signifies preintervention status. The radius, or r, was determined angiographically. Within the segment dilated with the balloon, the location with the smallest LA at follow-up was selected for further calculations. Definitions Table 1 displays the number of pigs represented in each treatment group, the number of arteries in each group that were dilated with the balloon with an intention to treat, and the number of arteries on which the results were based. Arteries were excluded because of lack of gain, which indicated local spasm or immediate procedural failure (gain 0 mm, seven arteries), procedure-induced aneurysm formation (six arteries), extravasation (12 arteries), excessive thrombus formation (one artery), intravascular US recording of related problems (four arteries), or untimely death (ventricular fibrillation, four arteries; retroperitoneal bleeding due to the intervention, four arteries).
Statistical Analysis Statistical software (SPSS, version 9.0; SPSS, Chicago, Ill) was used for all statistical calculations. A nested-design analysis of variance with a Tukey Honestly Significant Difference test was used to compare data among groups. The independent t test was used to compare the 42-day treated pigs that underwent an extended follow-up of 84 days with the 42-day treated pigs that underwent a follow-up of 42 days. A P value of less than .05 was considered to indicate a statistically significant difference.
An example of intravascular US scans is shown in Figure 1 for both the group treated with BB-2516 and the control group. Table 2 lists the intravascular US measurements at different times. The growth correction factor was 0.74 ± 0.03 (standard error of the mean [SEM]) for the control group and 0.75 ± 0.02 (SEM) and 0.79 ± 0.09 (SEM) for the groups treated with BB-2516 with a follow-up of 42 days and with a prolonged follow-up of 84 days, respectively. The increase in weight during follow-up was 11.3 kg ± 0.6 (SEM) in the control group and 10.4 kg ± 0.5 (SEM) and 12.8 kg ± 0.6 (SEM) in the groups treated with BB-2516 with a follow-up of 42 days and with a prolonged follow-up of 84 days, respectively. Figure 2 shows the effect of BB-2516 for different durations of administration on late VA loss, late LA loss, and intimal hyperplasia at 42 days of follow-up. Acute LA gain did not differ significantly (P = .98) among groups.
A 69% reduction in late VA loss was achieved in the group treated with BB-2516 for 14 days (1.27 mm2 ± 0.55 [SEM]) compared with the control group (4.04 mm2 ± 0.93 [SEM]); however, this reduction was not significant (P = .1). After this time, a consistent inhibition of late VA loss compared with that of the control group was observed in the groups treated with BB-2516 for 28 and 42 days with a follow-up of 42 days (late VA loss, 0.89 mm2 ± 0.83 [SEM] [P = .03] and 0.74 mm2 ± 0.66 [SEM] [P = .02], respectively). After 14 and 28 days of treatment, late LA loss was 65% and 55% of control values, respectively, and it decreased to 41% (P = .04) after 42 days of treatment. The group treated with BB-2516 for 42 days with a follow-up of 84 days did not show significant differences, compared with the group treated with BB-2516 for 42 days with a follow-up of 42 days, in late VA loss (1.44 mm2 ± 1.30 [SEM] vs 0.74 mm2 ± 0.66 [SEM]), late LA loss (3.07 mm2 ± 1.97 [SEM] vs 2.47 mm2 ± 0.66 [SEM]), or intimal hyperplasia (1.64 mm2 ± 0.76 [SEM] vs 1.73 mm2 ± 0.34 [SEM]); the P value for late VA loss, late LA loss, and hyperplasia values was greater than .6.
The principal findings of the present study were that oral MMP inhibition with BB-2516 for 14–28 days seemed sufficient to inhibit constrictive remodeling after balloon dilation. Furthermore, findings in the group of animals killed 42 days after therapy provided evidence that a delayed constrictive remodeling response did not occur. MMP Inhibitor and Constrictive Remodeling Although the cellular and molecular basis of constrictive arterial remodeling after balloon angioplasty is still unclear, parallels can be drawn to wound healing. In the atherosclerotic monkey, Geary et al (7) showed that the pattern of matrix and integrin expression within the injured wall is in many ways analogous to that of healing wounds. In an in vitro wound contraction model (8), BB-2516 inhibited lattice contraction, mediated by fibroblasts, which is a modeling that may occur when granulation tissue contracts in a healing wound. Arterial remodeling after balloon angioplasty is a time-dependent phenomenon. In the atherosclerotic pig (2), constrictive remodeling in peripheral arteries starts within days after balloon angioplasty and progresses for as long as 42 days. In the nonatherosclerotic pig, constrictive remodeling started between 7 and 14 days after intervention (Sierevogel MJ, unpublished data, 2001). Surprisingly, the present study showed that 14-day MMP inhibition seemed sufficient to inhibit constrictive remodeling. Furthermore, an additional follow-up of 42 days after 42 days of treatment did not result in a catch-up of the remodeling response, as previously reported (9) for intimal hyperplasia. These results indicate that the effect of MMP inhibition precedes the geometric remodeling response. This implies that an essential initiator of the constrictive remodeling response, related to MMP activity, is mainly active in the first 2 weeks after intervention and is blocked by the MMP inhibitor. Strauss et al (3) demonstrated that peak collagen synthesis and degradation occur at 7 days after balloon angioplasty. MMPs play a role not only in collagen turnover (3) and elastin metabolism (10) but also in processes such as solubilization of plasma membrane receptors through proteolytic cleavage of the ligand-binding domain at the cell surface, which is called shedding (11), activation of integrins (12), regulation of vascular reactivity (13), and inflammation (14). Consequently, the effects of MMP inhibition by means of a nonspecific MMP inhibitor are likely the complex result of general inhibition of various processes mediated by MMPs. MMP Inhibitor and Intimal Hyperplasia Other Methods to Reduce Constrictive Remodeling Constrictive remodeling has been inhibited nonmechanically as well. After coronary angioplasty in the pig, both intimal hyperplasia and constrictive remodeling are attenuated by means of inhibition of tyrosine kinases, transducers of a variety of extracellular signals that regulate smooth muscle cell proliferation, and differentiation (17). In humans, the antioxidant probucol exerts its antirestenotic effects by enhancing expansive remodeling after angioplasty (18). In addition, Daida et al (19) recently demonstrated the potential benefits of probucol administration in prevention of restenosis. In several animal studies, another target for pharmacologic intervention in restenosis has been the dysfunctional endothelium. The nitric oxide precursor L-arginine reduces neointima formation, but the effect on arterial remodeling varies from none (20) to reduced constrictive remodeling (21). With adenovirus-mediated transfer of human endothelial nitric oxide synthase in the pig, Varenne et al (22) showed a reduction in late LA loss after balloon angioplasty by means of both reduction of neointima and enlargement of VA. In humans, ß-radiation therapy after balloon angioplasty increases VA at the 6-month follow-up (23). In the study of Sabaté et al (23), however, LA remained unaltered since plaque area increased as well. Compared with other methods to prevent restenosis, probucol and BB-2516 have the advantage of being orally administered. Limitations This study has been performed in a nonatherosclerotic model, which may hamper extrapolation of the results to the human atherosclerotic artery. However, our previous studies with MMP inhibitors were performed in atherosclerotic (6) and nonatherosclerotic (4) models. In both models, MMP inhibition markedly reduced constrictive remodeling after balloon dilation. One must keep in mind, however, that in both models, balloon dilation resulted in an overdilation of the artery, which could result in reduced local shear force. This is known to induce MMP activity (25) and might also be influenced by MMP inhibition. Late VA loss, the primary endpoint of the present study, was influenced by treatment with BB-2516. We also determined the effect on late LA loss and intimal hyperplasia. However, since we did not correct for multiple testing, these secondary outcome measurements cannot be considered conclusive. In the pig, oral MMP inhibition for 14–28 days was sufficient to inhibit constrictive arterial remodeling after balloon dilation. This implies that an essential MMP-dependent initiator of the constrictive remodeling response was mainly active in the first 2 weeks after intervention. The short treatment necessary to inhibit constrictive remodeling limits potential side effects and may make BB-2516, or comparable compounds, suitable for prevention of restenosis after balloon angioplasty in humans. Practical application: To our knowledge, BB-2516 is the first orally administered MMP inhibitor to be included in clinical trials in the field of oncology (5). It has excellent bioavailability, and phase I, II, and some phase III trials with it have been completed. In phase I studies, short courses of BB-2516 were well tolerated by healthy volunteers. With long-term treatment, however, patients with various malignancies began to experience joint and muscle pain. This was seen in more than 60% of patients receiving a dose of BB-2516 greater than 50 mg twice a day. The symptoms were reversible after discontinuation of the drug, and occurrence of symptoms was reduced by using a 10-mg dose of BB-2516 twice a day. Improved survival was not observed in the completed phase III studies of pancreatic or gastric carcinoma and glioma. It is likely that MMP inhibitors will be most effective in the setting of minimal tumor volume. Phase III studies of coadministration with conventional cytotoxic agents and radiation therapy are currently ongoing. If the present findings in the pig hold true in humans, the short duration of treatment necessary to inhibit constrictive remodeling will limit potential side effects and may make BB-2516, or comparable compounds, suitable for prevention of restenosis in humans.
BB-2516 (Marimastat) was supplied by British Biotech Pharmaceuticals, Oxford, England.
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