Mustafa Barış KEMAHLI, Nuri Utkan TUNCA, Çağatay BİLEN, Pınar AKOKAY, Kıvanç METİN, Tuğra GENÇPINAR, Serdar BAYRAK
Cardiovascular Surgery and Interventions - 2026;13(1):7-12
Objectives: Abdominal aortic aneurysm carries a substantial risk of rupture, and no drug therapy has yet been validated to slow aneurysm enlargement. Colchicine, an established anti-inflammatory agent with proven benefit in coronary artery disease, may also modulate vascular remodeling. This study evaluated the impact of colchicine on geometric and histopathological changes in a calcium phosphate (CaPO4)-induced rat model of abdominal aortic aneurysm. Methods: Twenty-two male Wistar albino rats were randomized into three groups: Sham-operated controls (n=6), CaPO4-induced abdominal aortic aneurysm (aneurysm, n=8), and CaPO4-induced abdominal aortic aneurysm treated with colchicine (n=8). Experimental aneurysms were induced by periadventitial application of 0.5 mol/L calcium chloride and phosphate-buffered saline to the infrarenal aorta. The treatment group received colchicine 0.5 mg/kg/day for 30 days. On day 30, morphometric measurements of lumen diameter and aortic cross-sectional area, together with semiquantitative histological scores for Caspase-3, Caspase-9, elastic fiber fragmentation, and calcium accumulation, were obtained. Results: Compared with sham animals, aneurysm rats exhibited marked increases in lumen diameter and aortic area, higher Caspase-3 and Caspase-9 expression, pronounced elastin fragmentation, and greater calcium deposition. Colchicine significantly reduced lumen diameter and aortic area versus untreated aneurysm rats and lowered Caspase-3 and Caspase-9 scores while attenuating elastin fragmentation. In contrast, calcium scores remained elevated in both aneurysm and colchicine groups relative to sham, without a significant difference between the two aneurysm groups. Conclusion: Colchicine partially limited early aneurysmal remodeling by improving geometric parameters and mitigating apoptosis and elastin degradation, whereas vascular calcification was not substantially modified. These data support further investigation of colchicine as a potential adjunctive therapy in abdominal aortic aneurysm.
