Abstract-Semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase (SSAO)-deficient mice present no alteration in elastin cross-linking processes and carotid mechanical properties. In contrast, previous studies have shown that SSAO inhibitors induced marked anomalies in arterial structure and function. The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of semicarbazide (SCZ), an efficient SSAO inhibitor, on the arterial phenotype of the carotid artery in relation to modulation of SSAO and lysyl oxidase activities in growing rats. We first show that after 6 weeks of SCZ treatment (100 mg/kg per day), SSAO activity was reduced by 90%, whereas lysyl oxidase activity was only partially inhibited (Ͻ60%) in carotid artery, compared with controls. There was significant growth inhibition and no difference in mean arterial pressure but an increase in pulse pressure with a smaller arterial diameter in SCZ-treated rats. SCZ decreased aortic insoluble elastin without a change in total collagen. In addition, extracellular proteins other than insoluble elastin and collagen were increased in SCZ-treated rats. All of the elastic lamellae presented globular masses along their periphery, and focal disorganization was observed in the ascending aorta. Carotid artery mechanical strength was lower in SCZ-treated rats, and the elastic modulus-wall stress curve was shifted leftward compared with controls, indicating increased stiffness. Thus, SCZ modifies arterial geometry and mechanical properties, alters elastic fiber structure, and reduces the content of cross-linked elastin. Because these abnormalities are essentially absent in SSAO-deficient mice, our results suggest that lysyl oxidase inhibition is responsible for the major part of the vascular phenotype of SCZ-treated rats. Key Words: SSAO Ⅲ carotid artery Ⅲ LOX Ⅲ arterial stiffness Ⅲ elastin T he maturation of elastin and collagen is crucial for the organization of the extracellular matrix (ECM) and to provide functional elasticity and tensile strength of the arterial wall. It is generally considered that the formation of intramolecular and extramolecular cross-links of both elastin and collagen is mediated by lysyl oxidase (LOX). LOX is a carbonyl-dependent copper enzyme, expressed, synthesized, and secreted by vascular smooth muscle cells. 1 Many years ago, Lalich 2 showed that the pharmacological inhibition of LOX with -aminopropionitrile (〉APN) induced aortic ruptures and aneurysms in rat. Mice lacking LOX do not deposit normal elastic fibers and develop aortic aneurysms. 3,4 Another copper-containing amine oxidase, semicarbazidesensitive amine oxidase (SSAO), also called vascular adhesion protein-1, is highly expressed in the plasma membrane of vascular smooth muscle cells of the aortic media. [5][6][7] The exact roles of SSAO in vascular wall function remain unknown. Several previous results support the hypothesis that SSAO may be involved in vascular smooth muscle cell differentiation, organization of the ECM, 8 and regulation of vascular tone. 9 -12 Langford et al 11 have shown that p...