Identification of Three Particular Morphological Phenotypes in Sporadic Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm: Phenotype III As Sporadic Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm Biomarker in Aged Individuals

Abstract Aging has a striking impact on the heart and the vascular system, particularly on the large elastic arteries (i.e., aorta), resulting in a multitude of changes at different structural and functional levels. As result, medial degeneration (MD) occurs. A characteristic example of MD is sporadic thoracic aortic aneurysm (S-TAA), whose patho-physiological mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, typical MD morphological phenotypes were researched in S-TAA cases and control aorta specimens by histopathological and immunohistochemical analyses. Three phenotypes (I, II, and III) were detected, but mainly the phenotype III was observed. Elevated cystic MD, plurifocal medial apoptosis, and…