Protective effect and mechanism of dihydromyricetin on atherosclerosis in ApoE-/-mice / 中成药

ABSTRACT

AIM To explore the protective effect and mechanism of dihydromyricetin (DHM) on atherosclerosis (AS) in ApoE-/-mice induced by high fat diet (HFD).METHODS Thirty healthy 6-week-old male ApoE-/-mice were randomly divided into model group,DHM group [50 mg/(kg · d)] and Atorvastatin group [5 mg/(kg · d),i.g.],and another 10 male C57BL/6J mice were taken for control group.The mice in the control and model group were administered with 0.5％ CMC-Na solution,while the other two groups were given DHM and atorvastatin suspension (0.2 mL/10 g).All mice went on with a 10-week HFD diet (0.3％ cholesterol,20％ fat),after which the orbit blood was procured for serum isolation and subsequent determination of levels of SOD,GSH-Px,CAT and MDA by the biochemical analyzer and test of lipid accumulation in the aotic root by oil red O.The detection of macrophages accumulation and Caspase-3 expression level in the aortic root were achieved by immunofluorescence,and the macrophages apoptosis by TUNEL assay.RESULTS Significant post-treatment reduction in levels of TG,TC,and remarkable amelioration of LDL-C and plaque area in the aortic root were observed in DHM group when compared with model group.Meanwhile,DHM contributed to marked decrease of MDA level and improvement in activities of CAT,GSH-Px and SOD,the obvious macrophages accumulation prevention in atherosclerotic plaque.Additionally,its significant inhibition on macrophage apoptosis in aortic root was verified by the TUNEL assay.CONCLUSION DHM reduces the lipid accumulation in HFD-induced ApoE-/-mice,mechanically a resultant of its inhibition on macrophage apoptosis.