Upregulated PGC-NRF-mtTFA expressions contributed to the development of atherosclerosis in rabbits fed with a high fat diet

VernacularTitle:高脂动物模型中血管平滑肌细胞线粒体功能相关因子的表达
Author: Wen-Sheng WU ¹ ; Gui-Nan LIU ; Hai-Yang HUO ; Feng-Rong WANG ; Xian ZHENG ; Dan MAO
Author Information

1. 中国医科大学第一临床学院
Keywords: Atherosclerosis; Mitochondria; Myocytes,smooth muscle; Pbenotype
From: Chinese Journal of Cardiology 2008;36(7):646-650
CountryChina
Language:Chinese
Abstract: Objective To investigate the relationship between PPAR coactivator 1 (PGC-1), nuclear respiratory factor (NRF), mitochondrial transcription factor A (mtTFA) expressions of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) and development of atherosclerosis in a rabbit model.Methods Atherosclerotic model was established by feeding the rabbits with high-fat diet for 4, 8 and 12 weeks ( n = 10 each).Another 8 rabbits fed with normal diet served as normal controls.Intima-media ratio, mRNA and protein expressions of PGC-1, NRF, mtTFA and SMemb, a marker for synthetic VSMC, were detected on aorta specimens.Results With the blood lipid increased, the intima-media ratio rose from (0.031 ± 0.010) μm up to (0.814±0.258) μm during 12 weeks.Increasing SMemb means that synthetic VSMC grew more and more.The expressions of PGC-1 became significant after 4 weeks (P < 0.01 ), while that of NRF-1 and mtTFA rose significantly after 8 weeks (P < 0.01 ).conclusions The PGC-NRF-mtTFA pathway might play a critical role in VSMC proliferation and development of atherosclerosis.