Key Laboratory of Functional Dairy, College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China.
Tianjin Milkyway Import and Export Corp, Tianjin 300457, China.
Food Res Int. 2022 Jul;157:111419. doi: 10.1016/j.foodres.2022.111419. Epub 2022 May 27.
Whey protein hydrolysate (WPH) has been proved to possess various biological activities associated with the amelioration of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The objective of this study was to investigate the anti-atherosclerotic and hepatoprotective effects of WPH on apolipoprotein E knockout (apoE) mice fed with a Western diet for 15 weeks. Results revealed that WPH markedly inhibited the development of atherosclerotic lesions in the aorta and steatosis injury in the liver. The serum lipid and inflammation levels were both reduced after WPH supplemented in apoE mice. In addition, WPH inhibited the lipid accumulation in the liver, thereby decreasing the hepatic inflammation level and oxidative stress injury. Mechanism investigation revealed that WPH down-regulated the expression of cholesterol biosynthesis genes while up-regulated the expression of cholesterol uptake and excretion genes in the liver. Meanwhile, the de novo lipogenesis was inhibited while the fatty acids β-oxidation was activated in the liver by WPH supplementation. Notably, the n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA)/n-6 PUFA ratio in serum and liver of the WPH-H group were 2.69-fold (p < 0.01) and 3.64-fold (p < 0.01) higher than that of the Model group. Collectively, our results proved WPH possesses potent anti-atherosclerotic and hepatoprotective activities and has the potential to be used as a novel functional ingredient for the management of CVD.
乳清蛋白水解物（WPH）已被证明具有多种与改善心血管疾病（CVD）相关的生物活性。本研究旨在探讨 WPH 对喂食西式饮食 15 周的载脂蛋白 E 敲除（apoE）小鼠的抗动脉粥样硬化和保肝作用。结果表明，WPH 显著抑制了主动脉粥样硬化病变和肝脂肪变性损伤的发展。补充 WPH 后，apoE 小鼠的血清脂质和炎症水平均降低。此外，WPH 抑制了肝脏中的脂质积累，从而降低了肝脏的炎症水平和氧化应激损伤。机制研究表明，WPH 下调了肝脏中胆固醇生物合成基因的表达，同时上调了胆固醇摄取和排泄基因的表达。同时，WPH 抑制了肝脏中的从头合成脂肪，激活了脂肪酸β氧化。值得注意的是，WPH-H 组血清和肝脏中的 n-3 多不饱和脂肪酸（PUFA）/n-6 PUFA 比值分别比模型组高 2.69 倍（p<0.01）和 3.64 倍（p<0.01）。综上所述，我们的研究结果表明 WPH 具有强大的抗动脉粥样硬化和保肝作用，有望成为治疗 CVD 的新型功能性成分。
