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Lesions of the Tunica Media in Traumatic Rupture of Vertebral Arteries: Histologic and Biochemical Studies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2015

M.S. Pollanen ,
J.H.N. Deck ,
L. Boutilier  and
G. Davidson
M.S. Pollanen*
Affiliation:
Department of Pathology, Division of Neuropathology, The Toronto Hospital, Toronto
J.H.N. Deck*
Affiliation:
Department of Pathology, Division of Neuropathology, The Toronto Hospital, Toronto
L. Boutilier*
Affiliation:
Department of Pathology, Division of Neuropathology, The Toronto Hospital, Toronto
G. Davidson*
Affiliation:
Department of Pathology, Division of Neuropathology, The Toronto Hospital, Toronto
*
Department of Pathology, Division of Neuropathology, The Toronto Hospital, 399 Bathurst Street, Toronto, Ontatio, Canada M5T2S8
Department of Pathology, Division of Neuropathology, The Toronto Hospital, 399 Bathurst Street, Toronto, Ontatio, Canada M5T2S8
Department of Pathology, Division of Neuropathology, The Toronto Hospital, 399 Bathurst Street, Toronto, Ontatio, Canada M5T2S8
Department of Pathology, Division of Neuropathology, The Toronto Hospital, 399 Bathurst Street, Toronto, Ontatio, Canada M5T2S8
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Abstract:

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Discontinuous non-circumferential lesions of tunica media were observed in four cases of traumatic rupture of the vertebral artery. We hypothesize that these lesions were due to mechanical disruption of smooth muscle cells and the liberation of catabolic enzymes with subsequent degradation of the arterial media. To test this hypothesis, healthy vertebral arteries were incubated with crude extracts of bovine smooth muscle cytosol in attempt to reproduce the histological changes of the arterial media in traumatized vertebral arteries. We observed cytosol-induced degradation of tunica media, characterized by pallor of staining with the Masson’s Trichrome method, which was due to catabolic enzyme activity that was effectively inhibited by heat inactivation of the cytosol. The cytosol-induced tinctorial changes were similar to the lesions of the tunica media in naturally-occurring cases of traumatic vertebral artery rupture. We conclude that although vertebral arteries can be ruptured by physical distortion alone, associated lesions of the tunica media are due to in situ trauma-associated release of heat-labile catabolic enzymes.

Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences , Volume 19 , Issue 1 , February 1992 , pp. 53 - 56
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Neurological Sciences Federation 1992

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