Keyamura Yuka, Nagano Chifumi, Kohashi Masayuki, Niimi Manabu, Nozako Masanori, Koyama Takashi, Itabe Hiroyuki, Yoshikawa Tomohiro
Free Radical Research Project, Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.; 463–10 Kagasuno, Kawauchi-cho, Tokushima 771–0192, Division of Biological Chemistry, Department of Molecular Biology, Showa University School of Pharmacy; 1–5–8 Hatanodai, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 142–8555, Japan.
Biol Pharm Bull. 2015;38(5):785-8. doi: 10.1248/bpb.b14-00775.
Atherosclerotic lesion formation starts during fetal development and progresses with age after adolescence. However, atherogenesis during the juvenile period has not been studied thoroughly. In this study, we examined the atherogenic susceptibility of juvenile rabbits to cholesterol feeding. Male New Zealand White rabbits aged 8 (younger group) and 12 (older group) weeks were fed a 0.5% cholesterol-containing diet for 8 weeks, and then their aortic atherosclerotic lesion areas were evaluated. Plasma concentrations of total cholesterol, triglycerides, and phospholipids did not differ between the two groups; however, plasma concentrations of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol were 23% lower in the younger than in the older group. Atherosclerotic lesion areas were significantly larger in the younger group (32±21%). However, only moderate changes were observed in these areas in the older group (3.3±0.3%). Histological examination showed marked intimal thickening and macrophage accumulation in the aortic lesions of rabbits in the younger group. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to show that dietary cholesterol-induced atherogenic changes markedly occur during a short period in juvenile rabbits.
动脉粥样硬化病变的形成始于胎儿期，并在青春期后随年龄增长而进展。然而，青少年时期的动脉粥样硬化发生过程尚未得到充分研究。在本研究中，我们检测了幼年兔对高胆固醇饮食的动脉粥样硬化易感性。将8周龄（较年轻组）和12周龄（较年长组）的雄性新西兰白兔给予含0.5%胆固醇的饮食8周，然后评估其主动脉粥样硬化病变面积。两组之间的总胆固醇、甘油三酯和磷脂的血浆浓度没有差异；然而，较年轻组的高密度脂蛋白胆固醇血浆浓度比年长组低23%。较年轻组的动脉粥样硬化病变面积显著更大（32±21%）。然而，在较年长组中这些区域仅观察到中度变化（3.3±0.3%）。组织学检查显示，较年轻组兔的主动脉病变中内膜显著增厚且有巨噬细胞聚集。据我们所知，这是第一项表明幼年兔在短期内饮食胆固醇诱导的动脉粥样硬化变化明显发生的研究。
