Varicose vein disease is a frequently occurring pathology with multifactorial causes and a genetic component. An intense remodelling of the varicose vein wall has been described and could be at the origin of its weakness and altered elasticity. We have described previously a dysregulation of collagen synthesis in cultured smooth muscle cells from saphenous veins and in dermal fibroblasts from the skin of patients with varicose veins, suggesting a systemic defect in their connective tissue. The present study describes comparative morphological and immunohistochemical data in both the skin and saphenous veins of eight control subjects (undergoing coronary bypass surgery) and eight patients with varicose veins. Histological staining of glycoproteins, the elastic fibre network and collagen bundles showed that the remodelling and fragmentation of elastic fibres observed in varicose veins were also present in the skin of the patients. When compared with control subjects, we observed in both the veins and skin of patients with varicose veins (i) an increase in the elastic network, as quantified by image analysis; (ii) an accumulation of collagen type I, fibrillin-1 and laminin; and (iii) an overproduction of MMP (matrix metalloproteinase)-1, MMP-2 and MMP-3, analysed by immunohistochemistry, but normal levels of other MMPs (MMP-7 and MMP-9) and their inhibitors (TIMP-1, TIMP-2 and TIMP-3). An imbalance of extracellular matrix production/degradation was thus observed in veins as well as in the skin of the patients with varicose veins and, taken together, these findings show that remodelling is present in different organs, confirming systemic alterations of connective tissues.
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February 2007
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Research Article|
January 17 2007
Comparison of extracellular matrix in skin and saphenous veins from patients with varicose veins: does the skin reflect venous matrix changes?
Patricia Sansilvestri-Morel;
Patricia Sansilvestri-Morel
*Division of Angiology, SERVIER Research Institute, 11 rue des Moulineaux, 92150 Suresnes, France
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Florence Fioretti;
Florence Fioretti
†Laboratory of Physiopathology of Non-Mineralised Tissues, Faculty of Ondontology, University René Descartes Paris V, 1 rue Maurice Arnoux, 92160 Montrouge, France
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Alain Rupin;
Alain Rupin
*Division of Angiology, SERVIER Research Institute, 11 rue des Moulineaux, 92150 Suresnes, France
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Karim Senni;
Karim Senni
†Laboratory of Physiopathology of Non-Mineralised Tissues, Faculty of Ondontology, University René Descartes Paris V, 1 rue Maurice Arnoux, 92160 Montrouge, France
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Jean Noël Fabiani;
Jean Noël Fabiani
‡Department of CardioVascular Surgery, European Hospital Georges Pompidou, 20 rue Leblanc, 75015 Paris, France
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Gaston Godeau;
†Laboratory of Physiopathology of Non-Mineralised Tissues, Faculty of Ondontology, University René Descartes Paris V, 1 rue Maurice Arnoux, 92160 Montrouge, France
Correspondence: Dr Tony J. Verbeuren (email [email protected]) or Professor Gaston Godeau (email [email protected]).
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Tony J. Verbeuren
*Division of Angiology, SERVIER Research Institute, 11 rue des Moulineaux, 92150 Suresnes, France
Correspondence: Dr Tony J. Verbeuren (email [email protected]) or Professor Gaston Godeau (email [email protected]).
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Publisher: Portland Press Ltd
Received:
June 30 2006
Revision Received:
September 07 2006
Accepted:
October 05 2006
Accepted Manuscript online:
October 05 2006
Online ISSN: 1470-8736
Print ISSN: 0143-5221
The Biochemical Society
2007
Clin Sci (Lond) (2007) 112 (4): 229–239.
Article history
Received:
June 30 2006
Revision Received:
September 07 2006
Accepted:
October 05 2006
Accepted Manuscript online:
October 05 2006
Citation
Patricia Sansilvestri-Morel, Florence Fioretti, Alain Rupin, Karim Senni, Jean Noël Fabiani, Gaston Godeau, Tony J. Verbeuren; Comparison of extracellular matrix in skin and saphenous veins from patients with varicose veins: does the skin reflect venous matrix changes?. Clin Sci (Lond) 1 February 2007; 112 (4): 229–239. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/CS20060170
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