ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:To study the effects of spirulina kinase(SPK)on the vascular endothelial function of model rats with atherosclerosis. METHODS:60 rats were randomly divided into normal control group(distilled water),model group(distilled wa-ter),positive control group(simvastatin,0.005 g/kg)and SPK low-dose,medium-dose,high-dose groups(80,160,320 U/kg). Except for normal control group,rats in other groups were induced for model of atherosclerosis. All groups were intragastrically ad-ministrated relevant medicines at the same time,once a day for consecutive 12 weeks. Total cholesterol(TC),triglyceride(TG), low density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C),high density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C),interleukin-6(IL-6),tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α) contents in serum of rats were measured. And the changes of thoracic aortic endothelium morphology were ob-served by HE staining. RESULTS:Compared with normal control group,TC,TG,LDL-C,IL-6,TNF-α contents in serum of rats in model group were increased(P<0.01),HDL-C content in serum was decreased(P<0.01);vascular endothelial cells fell off, intimal proliferation projected into the lumen,smooth muscle cell proliferated and disordered,medium film elastic fiber disintegrat-ed and fractured. Compared with model group,TC,TG,LDL-C,IL-6,TNF-α contents in serum of rats in administration groups were decreased(P<0.05 or P<0.01),HDL-C content in positive control group and SPK medium-dose,high-dose groups was in-creased (P<0.05). Vascular endothelial cell morphology was improved significantly in administration groups,in which,vascular endothelial cells were structurally intact in SPK medium-dose,high-dose groups,inner membrane was basically smooth;medium smooth muscle cells arranged slightly disordered in SPK medium-dose group. Compared with normal control group,there were no obvious changes. CONCLUSIONS:SPK shows obvious lipid-lowering and anti-inflammatory effects,it can protect vascular endo-thelial function. The mechanism may be related to reducing TC,TG,LDL-C,HDL-C,IL-6,TNF-αcontents and increasing HDL-C content in serum.