title: The Role of CD36 in the Effect of Arginine in Atherosclerotic Rats.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of arginine in the development of atherosclerosis in rats fed a high-fat diet supplemented with arginine and to evaluate the role of CD36 in this process.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 40 Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to 4 groups: control group, fat diet group, simvastatin group, and arginine group. They were fed for 12 weeks and were then sacrificed. Immunohistochemical CD36 expression and pathology was investigated in the aorta; CD36 expression in mononuclear cells was detected by Western blot and RT-PCR.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The thickness of the aortal intima, media, and I/M significantly decreased in the arginine group rats compared with those in the fat diet group (P<0.05). CD36 expression was up-regulated in rats in the fat diet group compared with the control group and was down-regulated in rats in the arginine group compared with rats in the fat diet group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The addition of arginine has a significant effect on reducing rat atherosclerosis development, which may be attributed to both the down-regulation of CD36 expression in rat aortic endothelial and blood mononuclear cells and the NO pathway.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Jinshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China (mainland).
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Jinshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China (mainland).
authors.forename: Jianming
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Jinshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China (mainland).
authors.forename: Lijian
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Jinshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China (mainland).
authors.forename: Yijun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Jinshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China (mainland).
authors.forename: Haihong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Jinshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China (mainland).
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gong
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001011:Aorta / Q000473:pathology; D001120:Arginine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D018955:CD36 Antigens / Q000378:metabolism*; D059305:Diet, High-Fat / Q000009:adverse effects*; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D005260:Female; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D017539:Tunica Intima / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D018955:CD36 Antigens; C008132:Cd36 protein, rat; D001120:Arginine