ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the effects of piogiltazone on the expression of hemooxygenase-1 in aortic atherosclerosis plaque area in rabbits .Methods We randomly divided 36 Watanabe heritable hyperlipidemic rabbits into 3 groups:control group ,high-cholesterol diet group ,and high-cholesterol diet with pioglitazone [8 mg/(kg · d)] group ,with 12 in each .All the animals were fed for 12 weeks and then sacrificed .Rabbit aortic atherosclerosis pathological features were observed by Masson staining ;the expression of hemooxygenase-1 in aortic atherosclerosis plaque area in rabbits was detected by immunohistochemistry , real-time quantitative PCR and Western blot techniques .Results Hemooxygenase-1 expression was obvious in the smooth muscle in aortic vessels and atherosclerosis plaques in the three groups of rabbits . The expression of hemooxygenase-1 was lower in high-cholesterol diet with pioglitazone group than in high-cholesterol diet group and significantly higher than in control group (P<0 .05) .Conclusion Pioglitazone can slow down the progression of atherosclerosis by up-regulating the expression of hemooxygenase-1 .