title: Effect of a chronic cholesterol-rich diet on vascular structure and oxidative stress in LDLR-/- mice.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  There is conflicting evidence regarding the relationship between hypercholesterolemia and oxidative stress in vessels. To test the potential relationship, a mouse model of hypercholesterolemia was used.
  
  
  METHODS
  Low density lipoprotein receptor-deficient (LDLR(-/-)) and control (C57Bl/6) mice were fed a normal or (1.25%) high-cholesterol (HC) diet for 8 weeks, and the incidence of this chronic diet was evaluated on the degree of vascular oxidative stress and vascular structure (collagen content and lipid infiltration expressed in arbitrary units: AU=%/mm(2)).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Animals treated with the HC diet presented an increase in lipid infiltration (0.35±0.13 vs. 1.7±0.18 control and 1.04±0.16 vs. 1.84±0.23 LDLR(-/-), AU p<0.05) associated with higher collagen content (control: 2.13±0.40 vs. 3.46±0.36 and LDLR(-/-): 2.37±0.36 vs. 3.79±0.60; AU p<0.05 red Sirius staining). Interestingly, ROS production in the aorta was only increased in the LDLR(-/-) +cholesterol group (0.17±0.04 and 0.16±0.05 in the control groups, 0.14±0.02 vs. 0.34±0.06 in the LDLR(-/-) groups, p<0.05). C57Bl/6 and LDLR(-/-) mice presented altered vascular structure associated with the rich cholesterol diet, which was not necessarily associated with increased oxidative stress.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings highlight the complex interrelation between oxidative stress and lipid metabolism in the circulatory tract.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Physiopathologie et Pharmacologie Cardiovasculaires Expérimentales, IFR santé STIC n° 100, Facultés de Médecine et Pharmacie, Dijon cedex, France. benjaminlauzier@yahoo.fr
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lauzier
authors.forename: Stéphanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Delemasure
authors.forename: Bertrand
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Collin
authors.forename: Laurence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Duvillard
authors.forename: Franck
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Menetrier
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vergely
authors.forename: Jean-Louis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Connat
authors.forename: Luc
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rochette
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001011:Aorta / Q000473:pathology; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D002791:Cholesterol, Dietary; D003094:Collagen / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006937:Hypercholesterolemia / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D050356:Lipid Metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D011973:Receptors, LDL / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D002791:Cholesterol, Dietary; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D011973:Receptors, LDL; D003094:Collagen; D002784:Cholesterol