| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立陽明大學 === 生化暨分子生物研究所 === 96 === Accumulated evidence indicate that quercetin, the major flavonol in the plant kingdom, may possess beneficial effects in atherosclerosis. The protective effects of quercetin on the development of atherosclerosis include anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, anti-thrombotic and anti-proliferative activities. However, the mechanism of quercetin on reverse cholesterol transport remains unclear. High density-lipoprotein (HDL) have been attributed to a role in reverse cholesterol transport, especially the macrophage-dependent pathway. Apolipoprotein A1 (apoA-1) and ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) are two major protein with function of cholesterol transport. We hypothesized that quercetin may exert part of its anti-atherosclerotic rules through regulation of apoA-1 and ABCA1 expression. Our studies showed that quercetin induced protein expression of ABCA1 and cholesterol efflux via p38 MAP kinase dependent pathway in THP-1 macrophage cells. In animal study, expression of hepatic ABCA1 and apoA-1 as well as the serum level of apoA-1 were increased in C57BL6/J mice treated with quercetin in short duration. Plasma level of HDL-cholesterol was increased, but LDL-cholesterol was decreased when animals was treated with quercetin for 2 and 4 weeks. These resluts suggest that quercetin may play its role in anti-atherosclerosis through reverse cholesterol transport.
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