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A Human Ex Vivo Atherosclerotic Plaque Model to Study Lesion Biology
Published on: May 6, 2014
Induction of apolipoprotein E gene expression in human and experimental atherosclerotic lesions
P Crespo1, C González, J M Ordovás
1Departamento de Biología Molecular, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Cantabria, Santander, Spain.
Abstract:
Hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerosis were induced in New Zealand White rabbits by cholesterol feeding. Apolipoprotein E mRNA levels in livers were found to be slightly increased, as determined by Northern blots. Apolipoprotein E gene expression was dramatically induced in rabbit atherosclerotic aortas with respect to healthy aortas. However, apolipoprotein E mRNA levels in atherosclerotic aortas were low as compared with the hepatic mRNA levels of the same animals. Interestingly, we also found a significant increase in apolipoprotein E expression in human atheromata with respect to healthy aorta from the same individual. This is the first report on apo E gene induction in human atherosclerotic lesions.
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