Nutrient supplementation modulates angiotensin II-mediated atherosclerosis in ApoE KO mice

We studied the effect of nutrient/herbal extract mixture (NM) supplementation prior to angiotensin II (AngII) administration on ApoE KO mice. AngII-mediated injuries, which included increased atherosclerotic lesion size (by 31%) and severity (by 200%), as well as an increased number of necrotic cores (by 44%), were attenuated by NM supplementation, resulting in the reduction of lesion size by 20% (p=0.09), lesion severity by 31% (p=0.13) and the average number of necrotic cores per arterial tree by 39% (p=0.35), compared to mice fed the regular diet. The frequency of Type B thoracic aortic dissections and abdominal aneurysms in AngII-treated mice was reduced from 55.6% to 14.3 and 42.97%, respectively, with NM supplementation. Macrophage density in the aortic lesions of NM-supplemented AngII-treated mice was 20% lower (p=0.033) than in mice on the regular diet, whereas collagen density in NM mice was increased by 208% (p=0.026) compared to that in mice fed the regular diet, making for a more stable plaque type. NM-supplemented mice showed a significant reduction in total cholesterol (32% decrease, p=0.0001) and LDL (66% decrease, p<0.0001), commonly measured risk factors for cardiovascular disease. In conclusion, NM consumption prior to AngII administration in ApoE KO mice minimized aortic dissections, inflammatory monocyte recruitment to plaques, plaque mass and abdominal aortic dilation.