Ozone oxidative preconditioning prevents atherosclerosis development in New Zealand White rabbits

Atherosclerosis is a major cause of death in the Western World. It is known that Lipofundin 20% induces atherosclerotic lesions, whereas ozone at low doses has been satisfactorily used in the prevention of oxidative stress-associated pathologies, such as coronary artery diseases. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the effects of ozone therapy on Lipofundin-induced atherosclerotic lesions in New Zealand White rabbits. Ozone (1 mg), mixed with oxygen as passive carrier, was administered by rectal insufflation during 15 sessions in 5 weeks. Then, the animals were intravenously treated with 2 mL/kg of Lipofundin, daily during 8 days. Animals were euthanized and eosin and hematoxylin staining was used for aortic histopathological analysis. The biomarkers of oxidative stress and lipid profile in serum were determined by spectrophotometric techniques. The results demonstrated that ozone induced inhibitory effects on aortic lesions formation. On the other hand, a reduction of biomolecular damage and an increase of antioxidant systems were observed at the end of the experiment. The serum lipids profiles were not modified after only 1 cycle of ozone treatment. Our results reinforced the hypotheses that antioxidant effects induced by ozone in the context of atherosclerosis demonstrate the antiatherogenic properties of the gas in the experimental conditions of this study.