高脂肪食を与えられた雌ラットの血管周囲脂肪組織は腸間膜動脈の血管拡張を損なった

High-fat diet (HFD) is a cardiovascular risk factor that may disproportionately affect women compared to men. HFD alters perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT), which surrounds arteries and regulates vascular function. This study investigated the sex-specific effects of HFD on PVAT-mediated vascular dysfunction. Male and female Sprague-Dawley rats were fed a normal chow diet (NCD) or HFD for 16 weeks. Thoracic aortic PVAT was isolated, and PVAT adipokine expression and inflammatory markers were measured. We then assessed PVAT-conditioned media effects on vasodilation, endothelial oxidative stress, and endothelial nitric oxide (NO) synthase. PVAT-conditioned media from HFD female but not male rats impaired acetylcholine-induced vasodilation in mesenteric arteries; however, it did not increase oxidative stress or decrease endothelial NO synthase activation in rat endothelial cells in vitro. PVAT from HFD female rats had higher CD68 expression and acetyl-NF-κB/NF-κB ratio than PVAT from NCD female rats. Overall, HFD caused a greater PVAT-induced impairment in vasodilation in female as compared to male rats, which aligns with the heightened cardiovascular risk in women consuming a HFD.