Abstract: Objective  Previous studies have shown a protective effect of bardoxolone methyl (BM) in an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) model, and this study aims to further explore its therapeutic effect in aortic dissection (AD) model.Methods  A 3-week-old male C57BL/6J mouse was fed a β-aminopropionitrile (BAPN) diet containing 0.4% mass fraction to construct an AD model. The mice were randomly divided into control group, BAPN control group and BAPN+BM group. The BAPN+BM group was given a dose of 1.25 mg/kg per day intraperitoneal injection for 4 weeks, and the control group was injected with the same amount of solvent. During the experiment, the survival of mice was recorded and ultrasound detection was conducted, and aortic anatomy and pathological staining were performed to evaluate the aortic lesion after the experiment.Results  During the 28-day experimental period, both the BAPN control group and the BAPN+BM group had a higher mortality rate (72.7% vs 63.6%, P>0.05). Although BM interventions can delay the time to death, they do not significantly improve survival. Ultrasound results showed that the thoracic aorta of the mice in both groups had different degrees of dilation, and the difference was not significant. Anatomical and pathological analysis showed that BM failed to significantly reduce the incidence of aortic dissection, nor did it improve pathological injuries such as media structure damage, collagen deposition, and elastic fiber rupture.Conclusion  BM at 1.25 mg/kg  per day did not show significant protective effect in BAPN-induced mouse AD models, indicating the differences between AAA and AD animal models in the same dose of BM drug response, which provided a reference for personalized intervention strategies for different types of aortic diseases.

Key words: aortic dissection, abdominal aortic aneurysm, bardoxolone methyl, animal model, inflammation, oxidative stress