title: Betaine (N,N,N-trimethylglycine) averts photochemically-induced thrombosis in pial microvessels in vivo and platelet aggregation in vitro.
abstract: Betaine (N,N,N-trimethylglycine) is an important food component with established health benefits through its homocysteine-lowering effects, and is used to lower total homocysteine concentration in plasma of patients with homocystinuria. It is well established that hyperhomocysteinemia is an established risk factor for cardiovascular disease and stroke. However, the possible protective effect of betaine on coagulation events in vivo and in vitro has thus far not been studied. Betaine was given to mice at oral doses of either 10 mg/kg (n = 6) or 40 mg/kg (n = 6) for seven consecutive days, and control mice (n = 6) received water only. The thrombotic occlusion time in photochemically induced thrombosis in pial arterioles was significantly delayed in mice pretreated with betaine at doses of 10 mg/kg (P < 0.001) and 40 mg/kg (P < 0.01). Similar effects were observed in pial venules with 10 mg/kg (P < 0.05) and 40 mg/kg (P < 0.05) betaine. In vitro, in whole blood samples collected from untreated mice (n = 3-5), betaine (0.01-1 mg/mL) significantly reversed platelet aggregation induced by adenosine diphosphate (5 µM). The number of circulating platelets and plasma concentration of fibrinogen in vivo were not significantly affected by betaine pretreament compared with the control group. Lipid peroxidation (LPO) in mice pretreated with betaine was significantly reduced compared with the control group. Moreover, betaine (0.01-1 mg/mL) caused a dose-dependent and significant prolongation of PT (n = 5) and aPTT (n = 4-6). In conclusion, our data show that betaine protected against coagulation events in vivo and in vitro and decreased LPO in plasma.
authors: Department of Physiology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, P.O. Box 17666 Al Ain, UAE anemmar@uaeu.ac.ae anemmar@hotmail.com.
authors: Abderrahim
authors: A
authors: Nemmar
authors: Department of Physiology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, P.O. Box 17666 Al Ain, UAE.
authors: Priya
authors: P
authors: Yuvaraju
authors: Department of Physiology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, P.O. Box 17666 Al Ain, UAE.
authors: Sumaya
authors: S
authors: Beegam
authors: Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacy, College of Medicine & Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, P O Box 35, Muscat 123, Al-Khod, Sultanate of Oman.
authors: Badreldin H
authors: BH
authors: Ali
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001622:Betaine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D020767:Intracranial Thrombosis / Q000473:pathology*; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation / Q000187:drug effects*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D055806:Microvessels / Q000187:drug effects; D010841:Pia Mater / Q000473:pathology; D010974:Platelet Aggregation / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D001622:Betaine
keywords: Betaine; lipid peroxidation; mice; platelets; thrombosis