Effects of dexamethasone on experimental atherosclerosis in cholesterol-fed rabbits

• Published in: Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology Vol. 38; no. 3; pp. 255 - 264
• Main Authors: NAITO, Michitaka, YASUE, Masahiro, ASAI, Kanichi, YAMADA, Kazuyoshi, HAYASHI, Toshio, KUZUYA, Masafumi, FUNAKI, Chiaki, YOSHIMINE, Noboru
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan Center for Academic Publications Japan 1992
• Subjects: Animals; Aorta - pathology; arteriosclerose; arteriosclerosis; Arteriosclerosis - drug therapy; Arteriosclerosis - etiology; Body Weight - drug effects; cholesterol; Cholesterol, Dietary; cholesterol-rich diet; colesterol; conejo oryctolagus; dexamethasone; Dexamethasone - administration & dosage; Dexamethasone - pharmacology; Diet, Atherogenic; experimental atherosclerosis; foam cell; hyperlipidemia; Injections, Intramuscular; lapin; Lipids - blood; Male; monocyte; rabbit; Rabbits; β-very low density lipo-protein
• ISSN: 0301-4800; 1881-7742
• DOI: 10.3177/jnsv.38.255

We studied the effects of a synthetic adrenocortical steroid, dexamethasone, on the development of experimental atherosclerosis in cholesterol-fed rabbits. Daily intramuscular injection of dexamethasone (0.125mg/day) remarkably inhibited the aortic atherosclerosis induced by feeding a 1% cholesterol-rich diet for 8 weeks, although it aggravated diet-induced hyperlipidemia. Histologically, less foam cell accumulation was observed in the atherosclerotic lesions of the dexamethasone-treated rabbits as compared with the control animals. When rabbits were fed a normal chow diet for 10 weeks after receiving the 1% cholesterol-rich diet for 8 weeks, no regression of atherosclerotic lesions was observed with the daily injection of dexamethasone (0.125mg/day); however, the drug again tended to inhibit further progression of atherosclerosis. The anti-atherogenic mechanism of dexamethasone may involve an inhibition of recruitment of blood monocytes and the insudation of atherogenic lipoproteins, mainly β-very low density lipoprotein (β-VLDL) in the present experiments, into the aortic intima, or it may involve a change in the size and structure of the lipoproteins, resulting in their decreased passage through the aortic endothelium into the intima.