Effects of emotional and physiological stress on plaque instability in apolipoprotein E knockout mice |
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Authors: | Tao Zhang Yongzhi Zhai Yundai Chen Zhenhong Zhou Junjie Yang Hongbin Liu |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Cardiology, PLA General Hospital, Beijing, 100853, China;(2) Department of Emergency, PLA General Hospital, Beijing, 100853, China;(3) Department of Pathology, PLA General Hospital, Beijing, 100853, China; |
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Abstract: | In the present study, we sought to investigate the effects of emotional and physiological stress on plaque instability in
atherosclerosis. We used different stress-treated apolipoprotein E (ApoE)-deficient mice, which have been shown to spontaneously
develop atherosclerosis with features similar to those seen in humans, as an animal model. Morphology study showed that emotional
stress (ES) obviously promoted the development of atherosclerotic plaques and plaque instability evidenced by significantly
increasing plaque size, plaque-to-surface ratio and plaque calcification, and enhancing the frequency of large necrotic core
and medial erosion compared with control ApoE−/− mice (P < 0.01). Physiological stress (PS) treatment alone did not affect the plaque stability compared with control ApoE−/− mice (P > 0.05). However, the combination of ES and PS treatment (CS) initiated much stronger plaque instability compared with ES
treatment alone (P < 0.01), increased the frequency of thin fibrous caps, and even triggered plaque rupture and buried fibrous cap. Immunohistochemical
analysis indicated that both ES and CS treatment led to an increase in the accumulation of macrophages and T cells and a decrease
of smooth muscle cells, reflecting an unstable atherosclerotic plaque phenotype, in the atherosclerotic lesions in ApoE−/− mice. PS alone did not affect plaque cellular components. Similarly, CS-mediated changes in atherosclerotic plaque composition
were stronger than that caused by ES alone (P < 0.01). Taken together, ES treatment alone is sufficient to promote plaque instability. PS alone does not affect atherosclerotic
plaque development, but can potentiate ES-mediated plaque destabilization. |
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