ABSTRACT
Objective:To investigate the effect of IKKε on autophagy during abdominal aortic aneurysm formation in mice.Methods:We stimulated ApoE -/- mice and ApoE -/-IKKε -/- mice with AngⅡ and saline for 28 days. Metaboilic levels and aortic diameter of ApoE -/- mice and ApoE -/-IKKε -/- mice were measured. The arterial fibrosis of mice was detected by Masson staining and HE staining, mitochondrial reactive oxides were detected by fluorescence assay, the expression levels of autophagy factors LC3B and Beclin-1 were detected by immunohistochemistry, and the protein level of LC3B was detected by Western blot. Results:There was no significant difference in metaboilic levels between ApoE -/- mice and ApoE -/- IKKε -/- mice. However, the aortic diameterf ApoE -/-IKKε -/- mice was significantly less than that of ApoE -/- mice. The fibrosis level of ApoE -/-IKKε -/- mice was significantly lower than that of ApoE -/- mice. Furthermore, ROS in ApoE -/-IKKε -/- mice was lower than that in ApoE -/- mice. In addition, immunohistochemical and western blot showed that the expression levels of LC3B and Beclin-1 in ApoE -/-IKKε -/- mice were significantly lower than in ApoE -/- mice. Conclusion:IKKε -/- deficiency can significantly inhibit autophagy, thus reducing the development of abdominal aortic aneurysm in mice.