Endothelial dysfunction induced by oxidized low-density lipoproteins in isolated mouse aorta: A comparison with apolipoprotein-E deficient mice

Abstract

We characterized the acute effects of oxidized low-density lipoproteins (oxidized-LDL) on vascular reactivity in isolated aorta from wild-type C57BL/6J mice, and compared these with the chronic alterations in vascular function observed in apolipoprotein-E gene knockout [ApoE(- / -)] mice fed a high-fat diet, which results in hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis. In the abdominal (but not thoracic) aorta, oxidized-LDL (100 μg/ml) reduced relaxations induced by acetylcholine (10-9 M-10-5 M), which are mediated entirely by nitric oxide (NO). The relaxations induced by the NO donor S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP, 10-8 M-10-4 M), the cyclic GMP analogue 8-bromo cyclic GMP (100 μM) and the no..