Experimental study of relationship between Toll-like receptor 4,NF-κB and atherosclerosis in rabbits / 国际外科学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To observe the role of chronic inflammation in the development of atherosclerosis (AS) by analyzing the expression of TLR4 and NF-κB in artery endothelium. Methods To construct the atherosclerotic animal model, the balloon catheter was used to injure common carotid artery and rabbits were fed the high cholesterol diet. All the rabbits were divided into three groups control group with the normal diet, high cholesterol diet-fed group and model group (balloon-injured common carotid artery and the high cholesterol diet fed rabbits). The rabbits were sacrificed after 8 weeks and their tissues were collected. Then morphological changes of rabbit common carotid artery were observed by light microscope. The expression of TLR4 and NF-κB in endarterium was displayed using immunochemistry method. Results Both hyperlipidemia and exterior inflammatory stimulation promoted the expression of TLR4 and NF-κB in vascular endothelium (P ＜ 0.01 ). And when both of them were present, the level of TLR4 and NF-κB expression would get higher even than that affected by one of them( P ＜ 0.01 ). Conclusion Both hyperlipidemia and chronic inflammatory process can improve the expression of TLR4 and NF- κB in vascular endothelium in different degree; the inflammatory stimulation would promote the atherosclerosis to some extent; TLR4/ NF-κB would play a role as a bridge between the internal environment changes and the arterial morphological changes.