Gender based differences in histopathology of abdominal aorta in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm and aortoiliac occlusive disease

Relevance. Evidence exists that infrarenal aortic aneurisms and aortoiliac occlusive disease in women are different than in men in terms of anatomical features and more severe clinical course. Gender differences in histopathology of abdominal aorta are not fully studied.

The objective was to study gender based differences in histopathology of abdominal aorta in patients with aortic aneurisms and aortoiliac occlusive disease.

Methods and materials. The study included 96 biopsy specimens from 71 patients with aorto-iliac lesions (23 women and 48 men). A number of morphological characteristics and expression of matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) were analyzed. The data obtained were processed statistically.

Results. Adventitial infiltrate and medial sclerosis are more intense in the aneurysm than in occlusive-stenotic lesions, differences in the grade of fibrosis were proven only in men. Regardless of the patients’ gender, adventitial infiltration is denser in the aneurysmal body than in the neck; other changes in the anatomic parts of the aneurysm are similar. MMP-9 expression in the adventitia in the aneurysmal neck is higher in women, than in men. MMP-9 expression in the media and adventitia is higher in men with aneurysm, then with occlusive or stenotic lesion. Almost all indices of the aortic wall remodeling and MMP-9 expression correlate with each other in men with the aneurysm, in contrast to women.

Conclusion. Gender based features in histopathology of abdominal aorta and the degree of their correlation may determine differences in the anatomy and course of abdominal aortic aneurysm and aortoiliac occlusive disease in women and men. 

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