1. Academic Validation
  2. Anti-atherosclerotic effects of dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid in ApoE-deficient mice

Anti-atherosclerotic effects of dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid in ApoE-deficient mice

  • J Atheroscler Thromb. 2009 Aug;16(4):480-9. doi: 10.5551/jat.no430.
Shinji Takai 1 Denan Jin Hiroshi Kawashima Maki Kimura Akiko Shiraishi-Tateishi Takao Tanaka Saki Kakutani Kazuhiko Tanaka Yoshinobu Kiso Mizuo Miyazaki
Affiliations

Affiliation

  • 1 Department of Pharmacology, Osaka Medical College,Takatsuki, Japan. pha010@art.osaka-med.ac.jp
Abstract

Aim: Dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid (DGLA) is an n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid that is mainly metabolized to an anti-inflammatory eicosanoid, prostaglandin (PG) E1, via the cyclooxygenase (COX) pathway. We evaluated the effect of DGLA on atherosclerosis in apoE-deficient mice and studied the mechanism of the anti-atherosclerotic effect.

Methods: ApoE-deficient mice were fed a normal diet supplemented with 0.5% DGLA or vehicle for 6 months. ApoE-deficient mice were also fed a high-cholesterol diet supplemented with 0.5% DGLA or vehicle for 1 month. To clarify the influence of a COX Inhibitor, naproxen, on the anti-atherosclerotic effect of DGLA, age-matched apoE-deficient mice fed a high-cholesterol diet supplemented with 0.5% DGLA were given oral naproxen for 1 month.

Results: In normal diet-fed mice, acetylcholine-induced vascular relaxation was significantly greater in the DGLA group than in the vehicle group. NADPH Oxidase subunits, p22phox and gp91phox, intercellular adhesion molecule-1, and vascular cellular adhesion molecule-1 were significantly lower in the DGLA group than in the vehicle group, and DGLA significantly prevented atherosclerosis. In high-cholesterol diet-fed mice, DGLA also significantly prevented atherosclerosis, but the anti-atherosclerotic effect was attenuated by naproxen.

Conclusion: DGLA may have an anti-atherosclerotic effect in apoE-deficient mice via PGE1 formation.

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