P4.21 MICROCIRCULATION EFFECTS OF OBESITY AND/OR DIET: A PRELIMINARY STUDY IN MICE

• Main Authors: Nicole Di Lascio*, Francesca Lenzarini, Cristina Barsanti, Francesco Stea, Claudia Kusmic, Francesco Faita
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Atlantis Press 2015-11-01
• Series: Artery Research
• Online Access: https://www.atlantis-press.com/article/125930621/view

Obesity is becoming a global epidemic and is associated with cardiovascular disease. Genetic factors play a significant role in the disease etiology but less is known about the interaction between genes and diet composition. This study is aimed to investigate the effect of diet and/or genotype on microcirculation in mice. Five groups of male mice (28 weeks) were examined using micro-ultrasound (Vevo2100, VisualSonics): 5 wild type mice on standard diet (WT_DS), 7 wild type mice on high-fat diet (WT_HF), 7 OB/+ mice on standard diet (OB/+_SD), 5 OB/+ mice on high-fat diet (OB/+_HF) and 4 OB/OB mice on standard diet (OB/OB_SD). The high-fat diet (45% energy as fat) groups were treated for 18 weeks before US scans. Infrarenal vasculature was imaged using Power-Doppler mode and Pulsed-Wave Doppler signals were acquired at the segmental level; Resistivity Index (RI) and Pulsatility Index (PI) were then assessed. Both RI and PI were significantly lower in WT_DS than in WT_HF (0.57±0.03vs0.67±0.06 and 0.86±0.04vs1.10±0.09, respectively). The same result was found for the comparison between OB/+_SD and OB/+_HF (0.63±0.06vs0.72±0.04 and 1±0.12vs1.22±0.09, respectively). RI and PI values were significantly different between WT_HF and OB/+_HF mice, while no differences were found for WT_DS-OB/+_DS, WT_HF-OB/OB_SD and OB/+_HF-OB/OB_SD comparisons. The high-fat diet has effects on the microvasculature of both WT and OB/+ mice. The two genotypes respond differently to the high-fat diet but not to the standard one. Moreover, if treated with high-fat diet, WT and OB/+ animals are not different from OB/OB mice (standard diet) in terms of microcirculation.