Resistance to the Development of Spontaneous Atherosclerosis in Pigs with von Willebrand’s Disease

Abstract

The thoracic and abdominal aortas of 26 pigs with von Willebrand’s disease were examined for atherosclerosis by gross inspection. In 6 of these pigs, older than one year, a detailed histological study was made from tissue taken from areas most likely to develop atherosclerosis in the pig i.e. the distal part of the lesser curvature of the aortic arch and the posterior descending thoracic aorta at the level of the fifth intercostal artery. Six normal pigs were matched with the 6 von Willebrand pigs by breed, age, sex, and heart weight and a similar gross and histologic study of their aortas was performed. The aortas of 5 of the 6 normal pigs showed atherosclerotic lesions consistent with the known high frequency of atherosclerosis in normal pigs about one year of age. Only one of the bleeder pigs showed an atherosclerotic lesion; this was a fatty streak at the origin of the innominate artery. These preliminary observations suggest that pigs with von Willebrand’s disease are more resistant than normal pigs to the development of atherosclerosis. This may be related to the impaired platelet function in von Willebrand’s disease. We are extending these observations by means of prospective controlled dietary studies.