Abstract:

Objective To investigate the expression of pentraxin 3 (PTX3) in rabbit atherosclerosis plaques and normal artery tissues. Methods Sixteen New Zealand rabbits were randomly divided into normal diet control group (n=8) and high-fat diet group (n=8), and were fed with standard diet (100 g/d) and high-fat diet (100 g/d) for 16 weeks, respectively. At the eighth and sixteenth week of the study, the formation of atherosclerosis plaques in high-fat diet group was observed by ultrasonography. At the sixteenth week of the study, rabbit aortas of high-fat diet group were obtained, and the formation of atherosclerosis plaques was observed by sudan Ⅲ staining. The expression of PTX3 mRNA and protein in atherosclerosis plaques of high-fat diet group and normal artery tissues of normal diet control group was detected by Real-Time PCR and Western blotting, respectively. Results At the sixteenth week of the study, the formation of atherosclerosis plaques in high-fat diet group was confirmed by both ultrasonography and histological observations. The relative expression of PTX3 mRNA and protein in atherosclerosis plaques of high-fat diet group was significantly higher than that in normal artery tissues of normal diet control group [(2.815±0.531) vs (1.022±0.175) and (0.470±0.056) vs (0.248±0.053)](P<0.01). Conclusion The expression of PTX3 is significantly increased in atherosclerosis plaques, and PTX3 is one of the important inflammatory factors involved in the development of atherosclerosis plaques.

Key words: atherosclerosis plaque, pentraxin 3, inflammatory factor