Animal Models for Studying Neointima Formation

Neointima (NI) formation following arterial bypass graft surgery or balloon angioplasty is considered central to subsequent failure after these procedures. The NI promotes accelerated atherogenesis, re-occlusion and thrombosis resulting in a failure rate as high as 50% within 1-10 years. Furthermore, despite the relative success of statins and drug eluting stents, drugs that reduce the failure rate have as yet not been implemented. In turn, animal models are a crucial means of testing potential interventions, in particular, drugs. The objective of this review therefore is to provide a survey of all the possible models that can be used to explore the effects of drugs on NI formation. The review will focus on the most commonly used of species, namely the rat, rabbit, mouse, pig and dog.