Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Arsenic Trioxide Eluting Stents in a Porcine Coronary Model

Figure 2

Typical high-power micrographs 1 week, 2 and 4 weeks after the placement of BMSs and AESs in normal porcine coronary arteries. Insert: Digital camera photographs of the inner wall of the stented arteries. At the first week, a thick layer of matrix consists of a lot of inflammatory cells and fibrin associated with foreign body reactions is present over the stent struts for BMSs. A much thinner layer of such matrix can be observed for AESs. At 2 weeks, the neointima consisting of amorphous material and inflammatory cells formed. This amorphous material adjacent to the stent strut was never observed 2 weeks after AESs implantation. At 4 weeks, the neointima consists of smooth muscle cells and matrix proteoglycans. The density of smooth muscle cells in neointima is much lower for AESs than BMSs.