title: Beneficial effects of combinatorial micronutrition on body fat and atherosclerosis in mice.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  More than two billion people worldwide are deficient in key micronutrients. Single micronutrients have been used at high doses to prevent and treat dietary insufficiencies. Yet the impact of combinations of micronutrients in small doses aiming to improve lipid disorders and the corresponding metabolic pathways remains incompletely understood. Thus, we investigated whether a combination of micronutrients would reduce fat accumulation and atherosclerosis in mice.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Lipoprotein receptor-null mice fed with an original combination of micronutrients incorporated into the daily chow showed reduced weight gain, body fat, plasma triglycerides, and increased oxygen consumption. These effects were achieved through enhanced lipid utilization and reduced lipid accumulation in metabolic organs and were mediated, in part, by the nuclear receptor PPARα. Moreover, the micronutrients partially prevented atherogenesis when administered early in life to apolipoprotein E-null mice. When the micronutrient treatment was started before conception, the anti-atherosclerotic effect was stronger in the progeny. This finding correlated with decreased post-prandial triglyceridaemia and vascular inflammation, two major atherogenic factors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data indicate beneficial effects of a combination of micronutritients on body weight gain, hypertriglyceridaemia, liver steatosis, and atherosclerosis in mice, and thus our findings suggest a novel cost-effective combinatorial micronutrient-based strategy worthy of being tested in humans.
authors.affiliation: Center for Integrative Genomics, National Research Center Frontiers in Genetics, University of Lausanne, CH 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Ilhem
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: El Kochairi
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Montagner
authors.forename: Gianpaolo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rando
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lohmann
authors.forename: Christian M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Matter
authors.forename: Walter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wahli
mesh_terms: D041721:3T3-L1 Cells; D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000378:metabolism*; D052436:Adipose Tissue, White / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D001835:Body Weight; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism; D008264:Macrophages / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D018977:Micronutrients / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000378:metabolism; D047493:PPAR alpha / Q000502:physiology; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D018977:Micronutrients; D047493:PPAR alpha; D014280:Triglycerides