Apolipoprotein E knockout attenuates vascular graft fibrosis by reducing profibrotic macrophage formation through low-density lipoprotein receptor related protein 1.

ABSTRACT: Vascular graft fibrosis can cause a decrease in cellular infiltration and capillary ingrowth in vascular walls. It can also lead to vascular stiffening. As such, there are still no vascular grafts that can be used in blood vessels where their diameters are less than 6 mm in patients. Although various approaches have been evaluated to mitigate implant-associated fibrosis, effective treatments remain quite limited. In this study, we demonstrated that Apolipoprotein E (APOE) significantly increased during vascular regeneration after graft implantation in vivo. APOE knockout (KO) increased compliance of the regenerated aortas, reduced extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition, and increased capillary ingrowth in adventitia of the regenerated aortas. Using single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-s

SUBMITTER: Fu J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12860263 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature