Effect of Dalteparin on Atherosclerotic Lesion Formation in Apolipoprotein E-Deficient Mice

We aimed to investigate whether prolonged treatment with dalteparin could inhibit plaque progression. With C57BL/6J mice as the control, genetically deficient apolipoprotein E (apo E) male mice of C57BL/6J strain (apo E–/–) were randomly divided into 3 groups. The model group received no dalteparin, while the other 2 groups received dalteparin at 100 and 200 U/kg d, respectively. The aorta was harvested for hematoxylin and eosin staining to observe plaque formation and for immunohistochemical staining to detect the expression of oxidized low-density lipoprotein receptor 1 (LOX-1). The expression of LOX-1 messenger RNA was detected by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, while the expression of LOX-1 protein was detected by Western blotting. Dalteparin decreased aortic plaque volume and inhibited aortic LOX-1 protein expression in apo E–/– mice. The effect persisted 4 weeks after dalteparin treatment was discontinued. Dalteparin may inhibit atherosclerotic lesions by downregulating the expression of LOX-1 protein.

Source: Clinical and Applied Thrombosis/Hemostasis - February 27, 2015 Category: Hematology Authors: Su, L., Zhang, Q., Bao, H., Li, W., Miao, Y., Yan, Z., Chen, D. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research