Department of Medicine, Pulmonary Division, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, USA.
Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, USA.
Nutr Res. 2020 Mar;75:77-84. doi: 10.1016/j.nutres.2020.01.004. Epub 2020 Jan 13.
The Mediterranean Diet, characterized by higher intakes of plant foods including plant proteins, monounsaturated fat, fish, and lower consumption of animal products and saturated fat, has long been associated with reduced cardiovascular risk, but the molecular mechanisms underlying these associations have not been fully elucidated. We conducted a pilot study to evaluate associations of an Alternate Mediterranean Diet Score, reflective of adherence to this diet pattern and adapted for US populations, and its components, with markers of endothelial inflammation directly measured in endothelial cells harvested from a diverse sample of women (n = 25, mean ± SD age 33 ± 10.5y, 68% racial/ethnic minorities). Cardiovascular risk markers including nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB)-a marker of inflammation, as well as oxidative stress and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) gene expression-markers of endothelial function, were evaluated in harvested endothelial cells. We hypothesized that the Mediterranean diet pattern would be associated with lower inflammation and oxidative stress and higher eNOS expression in endothelial cells. Results showed that lower oxidative stress was associated with higher plant-based protein (Exp(β) = 0.96; P = .007), overall protein (Exp(β) = 0.99; P = .007), and red and processed meat intake (Exp(β) = 0.93; P = .012). Lower NF-κB was associated with higher legume (Exp(β) = 0.79; P = .045) intake, and higher eNOS was associated with higher red and processed meat intake (Exp(β) = 1.13; P = .005). Our findings suggest potential novel mechanisms through which certain Mediterranean dietary components may influence pre-clinical vascular alterations that may be associated with cardiovascular risk through lower endothelial oxidative stress, lower inflammation, and greater endothelial functioning. These findings warrant confirmation, prospectively in a larger sample.
地中海饮食以较高的植物性食物摄入量为特征，包括植物蛋白、单不饱和脂肪、鱼类，以及较低的动物产品和饱和脂肪摄入量，长期以来与降低心血管风险相关，但这些关联的分子机制尚未完全阐明。我们进行了一项试点研究，评估了反映这种饮食模式的替代地中海饮食评分及其成分与从不同种族/族裔女性样本中收获的内皮细胞中直接测量的内皮炎症标志物之间的关联（n=25，平均年龄 33±10.5 岁，68%为少数族裔）。在收获的内皮细胞中评估了心血管风险标志物，包括核因子 kappa B（NF-κB）-炎症标志物、氧化应激和内皮型一氧化氮合酶（eNOS）基因表达-内皮功能标志物。我们假设地中海饮食模式与内皮细胞中的炎症、氧化应激降低和 eNOS 表达升高有关。结果表明，较低的氧化应激与较高的植物性蛋白质（Exp(β)=0.96；P=0.007）、总蛋白质（Exp(β)=0.99；P=0.007）和红色及加工肉类摄入量（Exp(β)=0.93；P=0.012）有关。较低的 NF-κB 与较高的豆类（Exp(β)=0.79；P=0.045）摄入量有关，而较高的 eNOS 与较高的红色和加工肉类摄入量有关（Exp(β)=1.13；P=0.005）。我们的研究结果表明，某些地中海饮食成分可能通过影响内皮细胞氧化应激降低、炎症减少和内皮功能增强等潜在的新型机制，影响临床前血管变化，从而可能通过降低心血管风险。这些发现需要在更大的样本中前瞻性地加以证实。
