chondroitin-sulfates and Aortic-Diseases

Chondroitin sulphate (CS) has long been used to treat osteoarthritis. Some investigations have also shown that the treatment with CS could reduce coronary events in patients with heart disease but no studies have identified the mechanistic role of these therapeutic effects. We aimed to investigate how the treatment with CS can interfere with the progress of atherosclerosis. The aortic arch, thoracic aorta and serum were obtained from apolipoprotein E (ApoE) knockout mice fed for 10 weeks with high-fat diet and then treated with CS (300 mg/kg,

Topics: Animals; Anti-Inflammatory Agents; Aorta, Thoracic; Aortic Diseases; Atherosclerosis; Blood Glucose; C-Reactive Protein; Chondroitin Sulfates; Diet, High-Fat; Disease Models, Animal; Endothelial Cells; Foam Cells; Humans; Inflammation; Inflammation Mediators; Lipids; Lipoproteins, LDL; Male; Mice, Knockout, ApoE; Monocytes; Plaque, Atherosclerotic; THP-1 Cells

Measurements of total collagen, of the ratio of collagen types III/(I+III) and of sulphated glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) were compared with mechanical strength for individual ulcerated and non-ulcerated human aortic plaque caps and with intima adjacent to the plaques. The distributions of the collagen type ratio were similar for both ulcerated and non-ulcerated plaque caps but different from that of the adjacent intima. The proportions of different collagen types were not related to fracture stress and are thus unlikely to affect the potential to ulcerate. The distributions of the sulphated GAGs showed lower amounts for the plaque caps compared with the nearby intima, with the centres of ulcerated plaque caps having the lowest values. Total collagen had higher values in the peripheries of plaque caps compared with the nearby intima, but was distinctly lower in the centres of ulcerated plaque caps. Plaque caps appeared to require a higher collagen content than adjacent intima to support a given level of mechanical strength, suggesting that while collagen production had occurred in the plaque caps it was not as efficiently organized to resist fracture as a similar amount of collagen in the adjacent intima. Ulcerated plaque caps are notable for much larger transverse (centre vs. periphery) gradients of connective tissue constituents than for non-ulcerated plaque caps. The development of these transverse gradients may be a critical aspect in determining the propensity of a plaque to ulcerate.

Topics: Aortic Diseases; Arteriosclerosis; Chondroitin Sulfates; Collagen; Dermatan Sulfate; Elastin; Glycosaminoglycans; Hexosamines; Humans; In Vitro Techniques; Tensile Strength; Uronic Acids