Passive smoke exposure of female rats caused aortic atherosclerotic precursor lesions in their offspring.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence and degree of preclinical atherosclerosis in pups of pregnant rats exposed to cigarette smoke. Abdominal aorta examined for atherosclerotic lesions and intimal medial thickness of the abdominal aorta was measured by image analysis. The study groups showed endothelial cellular losses, marked intimal injuries, elastic fiber damages, mononuclear cellular infiltration, and irregularities in internal elastic membrane, with pronounced damages as integrity losses and local fragmentations. The results provide evidence for development of an atherosclerotic process in the neonatal period, even in prenatal stage, long before the formation of smoke-related cardiovascular diseases.