Influence of a high-fat diet on cardiac iNOS in female rats
Abstract
Overexpression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) is a key link between high-fat (HF) diet induced obesity and cardiovascular (CV) disease. Several studies have reported that oestradiol has cardioprotective effects that may be mediated through reduction of iNOS activity/expression. In the present study, female Wistar rats were fed a standard diet or a HF diet (balanced diet for laboratory rats enriched with 42% fat) for 10 weeks. Gene and protein expression of iNOS were measured in heart tissue. HF diet-fed rats exhibited a significant increase in cardiac iNOS mRNA by 695% (p<0.05), iNOS protein level by 248% (p<0.01), without changes in nitrate/nitrite levels. Expression of CD36 protein in plasma membranes was increased by 37% (p<0.05), while the concentration of free fatty acids (FFA) was reduced by 25% (p<0.01) in HF diet-fed rats. Expression of the p50 subunit of nuclear factor-κB (NFκB-p50) in heart lysate was increased by 77% (p<0.01) in HF diet-fed rats. Expression and phosphorylation of protein kinase B (Akt) and extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1/2 (ERK1/2) in control and HF diet-fed rats were also examined. Expression of Akt and ERK1/2 were unchanged between the groups. There was a significant increase in the ratio of phospho-Akt/total Akt but not for phospho-ERK1/2/total ERK1/2/ in HF-fed rats. Estrogen receptor-α levels (by 50%; p<0.05) and serum oestradiol concentrations (by 35%; p<0.05) were examined and shown to be significantly reduced in HF diet-fed rats. Our results revealed that a HF diet led to increased iNOS expression, most likely via a mechanism involving Akt and NFκB-p50 proteins. Decreased levels of oestradiol and ERα protein in the HF-fed group, in combination with increased iNOS levels are consistent with the hypothesis that oestradiol has a cardioprotective effect through its ability to regulate iNOS expression.
Citation
Jovanovic , A , Sudar-Milovanovic , E , Obradovic , M , Pitt , S J , Stewart , A J , Zafirovic , S , Stanimirovic , J , Radak , D & Isenovic , E R 2017 , ' Influence of a high-fat diet on cardiac iNOS in female rats ' , Current Vascular Pharmacology , vol. 15 , no. 5 , pp. 491-500 . https://doi.org/10.2174/1570161114666161025101303
Publication
Current Vascular Pharmacology
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
1570-1611Type
Journal article
Rights
© 2016, Bentham Science Publishers. This work has been made available online in accordance with the publisher’s policies. This is the author created, accepted version manuscript following peer review and may differ slightly from the final published version. The final published version of this work is available at www.eurekaselect.com / https://doi.org/10.2174/1570161114666161025101303
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