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Protective effects of ramalin against atherosclerosis in ApoE‐deficient mice
Author(s) -
Park HyeJin,
Byeon HyeEun,
Koo HyunJung,
Yim Joung Han,
Lee Hong Kum,
Pyo Suhkneung
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.25.1_supplement.1089.8
Subject(s) - proinflammatory cytokine , inflammation , cholesterol , monocyte , apolipoprotein e , endocrinology , medicine , infiltration (hvac) , antioxidant , immunology , chemistry , disease , biochemistry , physics , thermodynamics
Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease initiated by vascular inflammation and monocyte recruitment in part. Lichenderived compounds have been known to have a variety of biological activities including anti‐inflammatory activity, but the effect of polar lichen components on inflammatory diseases is not known yet. Herein we evaluate whether ramalin, a newly discovered antioxidant that is extracted from polar lichen, has a protective activity against atherosclerosis in experimental mice. 34 male ApoE −/− mice and 17 control (C57BL/6J) mice were fed a high‐fat/high‐cholesterol diet for 21 weeks. To examine the effect of dietary ramalin on atherosclerosis, 17 of the ApoE −/− mice were also given 200 mg/kg of ramalin by oral administration for 3 times per week. Administration of ramalin decreased serum levels of CRP, MCP‐1, oxLDL and total cholesterol. Moreover, the level of serum HDL was increased. In contrast, ramalin had slight but insignificant suppressive effects on the lipid deposition and the local infiltration of monocytes/macrophages in aorta. Collectively, these results suggest that ramalin might have a protective effect against atherosclerosis by regulating proinflammatory mediators in serum.