Therapeutic efficacy of rapamycin nanoparticles in the AAA rat model.

The diameter of the abdominal aorta in the rat AAA model was measured before, immediately after, and 7 days after elastase infusion. The diameter ratio is expressed for each rat as the ratio of the diameter after elastase infusion to the diameter before elastase infusion. During the process of AAA formation, the rats received intravenous injections of following suspension or solvent (n = 6/group); i) phosphate buffered saline (PBS), ii) 0.1 mg/kg free rapamycin (free/RAP-0.1), iii) 1 mg/kg free rapamycin (free/RAP-1), iv) 0.1 mg/kg rapamycin nanoparticles (RAP/nano-0.1), or v) 1 mg/kg rapamycin nanoparticles (RAP/nano-1). RAP/nano-0.1 and RAP/nano-1 enhanced the inhibitory effect on AAA enlargement compared with free/RAP-0.1 and free/RAP-1, respectively. Data represent the means ± s.d. N.S. indicates no significant difference, *p < 0.05 (Dunnett’s test), †p < 0.01 (unpaired Student’s t-test).