Open AccessTHE ROLE OF 25‐HYDROXY‐VITAMIN D 3 IN THE INDUCTION OF ATHEROSCLEROSIS IN SWINE and RABBIT BY HYPERVITAMINOSIS D
Author(s) -
Toda Takayoshi,
Leszczynski Dennis E.,
Kummerow Fred A.
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
acta patholigica japonica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.73
H-Index - 74
ISSN - 0001-6632
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1827.1983.tb02098.x
Subject(s) - vitamin , hypervitaminosis , corn oil , endocrinology , necrosis , vitamin d and neurology , medicine , thoracic aorta , aorta , chemistry , biology
Fibromuscular intimal thickening was seen in the ascending and thoracic aorta of the swine fed 62,500 IU of vitamin D 3 /kg of diet for three months duration; and after 3 months of vitamin D 3 withdrawal, atherosclerotic lesions were found. In rabbits, pronounced aortic smooth muscle cell necrosis developed with the forced feeding of 10,000 IU vitamin D 3 dissolved in corn oil/kg body weight/day for 14 days. Serum analyses indicated that blood calcium did not differ from that of animals fed corn oil alone, but that the level of serum 25‐hydroxy‐ vitamin D 3 measured by HPLC was 30 times that in the control animals. These data suggest that choleclaciferol (the oxidized sterol with vitamin D 3 activity) has a very destructive influence on the integrity of arterial wall, and that smooth muscle cell necrosis could be caused by enhanced membrane permeability to Ca 2+ following 25‐hydroxy‐vitamin D 3 incorporation into smooth muscle cell membranes.