Intravenous Injection of Rabbit Apolipoprotein A-I Inhibits the Progression of Atherosclerosis in Cholesterol-Fed Rabbits

Abstract

Abstract The effects of intravenous injection of purified rabbit apoA-I on the progression of aortic atherosclerosis in cholesterol-fed rabbits were examined. In experiment 1, 28 rabbits were equally divided into groups A and B and fed a 0.5% cholesterol diet for 90 days. For the last 30 days, group B received 40 mg apoA-I every week. The fatty streak lesions in group B (23.9±15.6%) were significantly suppressed compared with those in group A (46.0±24.9%) ( P <.05). In experiment 2, 33 rabbits were divided into four groups (8 or 9 rabbits per group) and fed a 0.5% cholesterol diet. Group A was killed on day 105, while groups B, C, and D were maintained for an additional 60 days on a normal diet, during which time groups C and D received 1 mg apoA-I every other day or 40 mg apoA-I every week, respectively. The lesions in group C (70.2±15.4%) and group D (65.7±20.0%) were significantly suppressed compared with those in group B (86.2±13.7%) ( P <.05) but were not reduced to the level of group A (50.0±22.9%). Although apparent regression was not observed under these conditions, the present study provided the first evidence for the antiatherogenic effect of homologous apoA-I on the progression of atherosclerosis in cholesterol-fed rabbits.