The purpose of this experimental in vivo study was to determine the time course of smooth muscle cell proliferation early and late after intravascular stenting compared to conventional balloon angioplasty in normal vessels. A balloon expandable 2.0 mm tantalum Strecker stent was placed in the right carotid artery of 33 male New Zealand White rabbits after they had been fed a 0.5% cholesterol diet for 28 days. In addition, balloon angioplasty was performed in 27 of the animals; 19 contralateral vessels served as controls without treatment. The vessels were excised at 7, 14, 28, 42 or 90 days after treatment. During the final 18 h before the rabbits were killed, bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) was applied and proliferating cells were detected by using a monoclonal antibody against BrdU. In histological cross sections the proportion of cells undergoing DNA synthesis was determined. Analysis was performed separately in the intimal and medial layers. Additionally, the area adjacent to the stent wire was compared with the intermediate area. Smooth muscle cells were identified by alpha-actin staining. Intimal wall thickness increased from 23 +/- 28 microns (control group without intervention) to 323 +/- 84 microns within 42 days after stenting (P < 0.01), and to 81 +/- 82 microns at day 42 after balloon angioplasty (P < 0.05). However, between 42 and 90 days following stent implantation a significant (P < 0.05) decrease in neointimal thickness was observed (90 days: 215 +/- 15 microns).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)