High-fat diet- and angiotensin II-induced aneurysm concurrently elicits splenic hypertrophy

Angiotensin II (Ang II) and high-fat diet are implicated in causing pathological changes in the vascular endothelium, brain, kidney and liver. The association of aneurysm leading to histopathological changes in the splenic compartment remains elusive. Further, the salubrious credentials of antioxidants, especially α-tocopherol and β-carotene in the resolution of splenic pathology have not been investigated.

Four-month-old Apoe(-/-) mice were used in the induction of aneurysm by infusing Ang II, and subsequently were orally administered with α-tocopherol and β-carotene-enriched diet for 60 days.

We observed splenomegaly in Ang II-infused aneurysm and high-fat diet-supplemented mice as compared to normal mice. These observations were further confirmed through histopathological investigations, demonstrating splenic follicular hypertrophy. We observed a remarkable decrease in the size of spleen in α-tocopherol and β-carotene-treated Apoe(-/-) mice as compared with Ang II-treated animals. Furthermore, no marked changes in the histopathological splenic sections were seen in the β-carotene-treated group. However, hyperplasia and proliferation of immature lymphocytes in the follicles were observed in the α-tocopherol-treated animals. We found that CD4+ T-cell levels were increased in the high-fat diet group relative to the control group and were decreased in the β-carotene-treated animals.

Our study provides evidence that Ang II infusion and high-fat supplementation induces abdominal aortic aneurysm that has pathological implications to the spleen. The use of β-carotene but not α-tocopherol as an antioxidant markedly ameliorates the pathological changes in spleen.