Vahedi Parviz, Rajabzadeh Asghar, Soleimani Ali
Department of Anatomical Sciences, Maragheh University of Medical Sciences, Maragheh, Iran.
Razi Herbal Medicines Research Center, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran.
SAGE Open Med. 2022 Jun 24;10:20503121221105330. doi: 10.1177/20503121221105330. eCollection 2022.
Lead exposure has destructive effects on some organs. It may produce a variety of toxic effects on endothelial cells of the vascular system. Any changes or damages to endothelial cells may lead to cardiovascular diseases, particularly the formation of atherosclerotic plaques. The aim of this study was to determine the ameliorative effects of ascorbic acid on the endothelium of coronary and aorta arteries in lead-exposed rabbits.
In this study, 30 white male rabbits of New Zealand race (weighing about 1.6-2 kg and 5 months old) were used and divided randomly into three groups: Group 1 ( = 10) that served as the control and received water and normal diet, Group 2 ( = 10) was exposed to lead acetate 547 ppm (5 mg/L) daily for 40 days, and Group 3 ( = 10) received vitamin C (500 mg/kg) and underwent the same duration of lead exposure (5 mg/L) daily for 40 days. The levels of cholesterol, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein, and high-density lipoprotein were measured using spectrophotometry, and the level of blood lead was calculated using a lead analyzer (Magellan Diagnostics, USA). The animals were anesthetized by pentobarbital (50 mg/kg). Subsequently, they were sacrificed, and their thoracic aortas and coronary arteries were removed. Then fixation, tissue processing, histological sectioning, and H & E staining were carried out. Finally, the sections were studied using light microscopy. The results were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney test.
The results indicated that ascorbic acid could reduce the destructive effects of lead on vascular endothelial cells and prevent the formation of atherosclerotic plaques in coronary and aorta arteries.
The results of this study confirm the beneficial effects of ascorbic acid against the destructive effects of lead on vascular endothelial cells. Hence, it could be proposed as a potential prophylactic treatment for the amelioration of lead toxicity, prevention of atherosclerosis, and improvement of endothelial cells dysfunction.
铅暴露对某些器官具有破坏作用。它可能对血管系统的内皮细胞产生多种毒性作用。内皮细胞的任何变化或损伤都可能导致心血管疾病，尤其是动脉粥样硬化斑块的形成。本研究的目的是确定抗坏血酸对铅暴露兔冠状动脉和主动脉内皮的改善作用。
本研究使用了30只新西兰种白色雄性兔（体重约1.6 - 2千克，5个月大），随机分为三组：第1组（n = 10）作为对照组，给予水和正常饮食；第2组（n = 10）每天暴露于547 ppm（5毫克/升）的醋酸铅中，持续40天；第3组（n = 10）接受维生素C（500毫克/千克），并每天接受相同持续时间（5毫克/升）的铅暴露，持续40天。使用分光光度法测量胆固醇、甘油三酯、低密度脂蛋白和高密度脂蛋白水平，并使用铅分析仪（美国麦哲伦诊断公司）计算血铅水平。动物用戊巴比妥（50毫克/千克）麻醉。随后，将它们处死，取出胸主动脉和冠状动脉。然后进行固定、组织处理、组织切片和苏木精 - 伊红染色。最后，使用光学显微镜研究切片。结果采用曼 - 惠特尼检验进行分析。
结果表明，抗坏血酸可以减轻铅对血管内皮细胞的破坏作用，并防止冠状动脉和主动脉中动脉粥样硬化斑块的形成。
本研究结果证实了抗坏血酸对铅对血管内皮细胞破坏作用的有益影响。因此，它可被提议作为一种潜在的预防性治疗方法，用于改善铅毒性、预防动脉粥样硬化和改善内皮细胞功能障碍。
