College of Life Sciences, Key Laboratory of Bioactive Materials of Ministry of Education, State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, Nankai University, Tianjin, China.
Medical College of Soochow University, Suzhou, China.
Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2020 Apr 2;524(2):439-445. doi: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2020.01.109. Epub 2020 Jan 29.
Calorie restriction (CR) ameliorates various diseases including cardiovascular disease. However, its protection and underlying mechanisms against atherosclerosis remain un-fully elucidated. In this study, we fed apoE deficient (apoE) mice in Control group a high-fat diet (HFD, 21% fat plus 0.5% cholesterol) or in CR group a CR diet (CRD, 2% fat plus 0.5% cholesterol, ∼40% calorie restriction and same levels of cholesterol, vitamins, minerals and amino acids as in HFD). After 16 weeks feeding, compared with HFD, CRD substantially reduced atherosclerosis in mice. CRD increased SMC and collagen content but reduced macrophage content, necrotic core and vascular calcification in lesion areas. Mechanistically, CRD attenuated bodyweight gain, improved lipid profiles but had little effect on macrophage lipid metabolism. CRD also inhibited expression of inflammatory molecules in lesions. Taken together, our study demonstrates CRD effectively reduces atherosclerosis in apoE mice, suggesting it as a potent and reproducible therapy for atherosclerosis management.
热量限制（CR）可改善多种疾病，包括心血管疾病。然而，其对动脉粥样硬化的保护作用及其潜在机制仍未完全阐明。在本研究中，我们将载脂蛋白 E 缺陷（apoE）小鼠分为对照组（喂食高脂肪饮食，HFD，21%脂肪加 0.5%胆固醇）和热量限制组（喂食热量限制饮食，CRD，2%脂肪加 0.5%胆固醇，约 40%热量限制，与 HFD 中的胆固醇、维生素、矿物质和氨基酸水平相同）。经过 16 周的喂养，与 HFD 相比，CRD 可显著减少小鼠的动脉粥样硬化。CRD 增加了 SMC 和胶原蛋白含量，但减少了巨噬细胞含量、坏死核心和血管钙化。在机制上，CRD 可减轻体重增加、改善血脂谱，但对巨噬细胞脂质代谢影响较小。CRD 还抑制了病变中炎症分子的表达。总之，我们的研究表明，CRD 可有效减少 apoE 小鼠的动脉粥样硬化，提示其是一种有效的、可重复的动脉粥样硬化管理治疗方法。
