Alcohol increases plasma levels of cholesterol diet-induced atherogenic lipoproteins and aortic atherosclerosis in rabbits
Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to reexamine the relationship between alcohol and atherosclerosis. Two experiments were performed: The first contained three groups of New Zealand White (NZW) female rabbits. The control group was fed a cholesterol-containing liquid diet and the other two groups were fed the same diet with either 20% or 30% of the calories supplied by alcohol. The second experiment had two treatments: one control group and another group fed a 10% alcohol diet. In experiment 1, alcohol at the 20% and 30% levels increased VLDL and LDL but not HDL compared with levels in control rabbits. Hepatic mRNA levels of apolipoprotein (apo) A-I, apoB, and 7 alpha-hydroxylase were not affected by alcohol. However, the LDL-receptor mRNA was decreased to half of control values by either 20% or 30% alcohol. Lesion areas and aortic cholesterols were significantly increased in the 20% and 30% alcohol-treated groups. Also, significant correlations were found between plasma cholesterol levels and total lesion area or lesion cholesterol contents. In experiment 2, the 10% alcohol-treated rabbits showed no differences in circulating lipoproteins, LDL-receptor mRNA, or lesion formation above that observed in controls. These experime...Continue Reading
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