Increased Balloon-Induced Inflammation, Proliferation, and Neointima Formation in Apolipoprotein E ( ApoE ) Knockout Mice

Background and Purpose— The pathophysiology of vascular lesions after balloon angioplasty remains poorly understood. A major limitation of most experimental studies in this regard is that injury was assessed in healthy arteries. Our aim was to study the effects of hypercholesterolemia in a mouse vascular injury model that mimics human balloon angioplasty. Methods— Carotid balloon distension was performed in wild-type (WT) mice on a normal diet...