title: Dietary Silicon Deficiency Does Not Exacerbate Diet-Induced Fatty Lesions in Female ApoE Knockout Mice.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Dietary silicon has been positively linked with vascular health and protection against atherosclerotic plaque formation, but the mechanism of action is unclear.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We investigated the effect of dietary silicon on 1) serum and aorta silicon concentrations, 2) the development of aortic lesions and serum lipid concentrations, and 3) the structural and biomechanic properties of the aorta.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two studies, of the same design, were conducted to address the above objectives. Female mice, lacking the apolipoprotein E (apoE) gene, and therefore susceptible to atherosclerosis, were separated into 3 groups of 10-15 mice, each exposed to a high-fat diet (21% wt milk fat and 1.5% wt cholesterol) but with differing concentrations of dietary silicon, namely: silicon-deprived (-Si; <3-μg silicon/g feed), silicon-replete in feed (+Si-feed; 100-μg silicon/g feed), and silicon-replete in drinking water (+Si-water; 115-μg silicon/mL) for 15-19 wk. Silicon supplementation was in the form of sodium metasilicate (feed) or monomethylsilanetriol (drinking water).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The serum silicon concentration in the -Si group was significantly lower than in the +Si-feed (by up to 78%; P < 0.003) and the +Si-water (by up to 84%; P < 0.006) groups. The aorta silicon concentration was also lower in the -Si group than in the +Si-feed group (by 65%; P = 0.025), but not compared with the +Si-water group. There were no differences in serum and aorta silicon concentrations between the silicon-replete groups. Body weights, tissue wet weights at necropsy, and structural, biomechanic, and morphologic properties of the aorta were not affected by dietary silicon; nor were the development of fatty lesions and serum lipid concentrations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that dietary silicon has no effect on atherosclerosis development and vascular health in the apoE mouse model of diet-induced atherosclerosis, contrary to the reported findings in the cholesterol-fed rabbit model.
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council (MRC) Human Nutrition Research, Elsie Widdowson Laboratory, Cambridge, United Kingdom; ravin.jugdaohsingh@mrc-hnr.cam.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Ravin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jugdaohsingh
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council (MRC) Human Nutrition Research, Elsie Widdowson Laboratory, Cambridge, United Kingdom; Cardiac Surgery Research Laboratories, Department of Surgery, and.
authors.forename: Katharina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kessler
authors.affiliation: Cardiac Surgery Research Laboratories, Department of Surgery, and.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Messner
authors.affiliation: Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Ludwig-Boltzmann-Cluster for Cardiovascular Research, Vienna, Austria; and.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stoiber
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council (MRC) Human Nutrition Research, Elsie Widdowson Laboratory, Cambridge, United Kingdom;
authors.forename: Liliana D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Pedro
authors.affiliation: Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Ludwig-Boltzmann-Cluster for Cardiovascular Research, Vienna, Austria; and.
authors.forename: Heinrich
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Schima
authors.affiliation: Cardiac Surgery Research Laboratories, Department of Surgery, and.
authors.forename: Günther
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Laufer
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council (MRC) Human Nutrition Research, Elsie Widdowson Laboratory, Cambridge, United Kingdom;
authors.forename: Jonathan J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Powell
authors.affiliation: Cardiac Surgery Research Laboratories, Department of Surgery, and Cardiac Surgery Research Laboratory Innsbruck, University Clinic for Cardiac Surgery, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bernhard
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001011:Aorta / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D001057:Apolipoproteins E / Q000235:genetics; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy; D001835:Body Weight; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood; D004032:Diet; D059305:Diet, High-Fat / Q000009:adverse effects*; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D058226:Plaque, Atherosclerotic / Q000097:blood / Q000517:prevention & control; D012825:Silicon / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000097:blood / Q000172:deficiency*; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D001057:Apolipoproteins E; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D014280:Triglycerides; D012825:Silicon
keywords: aorta silicon content; aortic lesions; apoE knockout mice; collagen and elastin contents; dietary silicon; elastic structure and morphology; monomethylsilanetriol; nutrition; serum lipids; tensile strength and elasticity