The effects of fish oil consumption on cardiovascular remodeling in ApoE deficient mice

• Published in: Canadian journal of physiology and pharmacology 2013-11, Vol.91 (11), p.960-965
• Main Authors: Cleverley, Kelby, Du, Xiaozhou, Premecz, Sheena, Le, Khuong, Zeglinski, Matthew, Nicholson, Tiffany, Goh, Chun Y, Lu, Yan, Anderson, Hope D, Moghadasian, Mohammed H, Jassal, Davinder S
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: acides gras oméga-3; Animals; ApoE deficiency; Apolipoproteins; Apolipoproteins E - deficiency; Apolipoproteins E - genetics; Atherosclerosis; Blood Pressure - drug effects; Cardiotonic Agents; Cardiovascular disease; déficience en ApoE; Echocardiography; Fatty acids; Fatty Acids, Omega-3 - pharmacology; fish oil; Fish oils; Fish Oils - pharmacology; Health aspects; Hemodynamics - drug effects; huile de poisson; hypertrophie ventriculaire gauche; left ventricular hypertrophy; Linseed Oil - pharmacology; Lipid Metabolism - drug effects; Mice; Mice, Knockout; Natriuretic Peptide, Brain - metabolism; omega-3 fatty acids; Physiological aspects; Rodents; Safflower Oil - pharmacology; Ventricular Function, Left - drug effects; échocardiographie
• ISSN: 0008-4212; 1205-7541
• DOI: 10.1139/cjpp-2013-0077

Owing to their spontaneous development of atherosclerosis, apolipoprotein E knockout mice (ApoE KO ) are one of the best studied animal models for this disease. Little is known about the utility of various omega-3 fatty acid regimens, in particular fish oils, in preventing cardiac disease in ApoE KO mice. The purpose of this study was to determine the cardiovascular effects of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation with either safflower oil (control), fish oil, flaxseed oil, or designed oil in ApoE KO mice fed a high-fat diet for a total of 16 weeks. In-vivo cardiac function was assessed weekly using murine echocardiography. Blood pressure, plasma lipid levels, and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) were serially measured. The results show that ApoE KO mice fed fish oil demonstrated an increase in left ventricular wall thickness as a result of increased afterload. Despite chronic treatment with fish oil over 16 weeks, blood pressure increased in ApoE KO mice by 20% compared with the baseline. Both echocardiographic evidence of left ventricular hypertrophy and biochemical increase in BNP levels confirmed diastolic dysfunction in ApoE KO mice fed fish oil. This suggests that high-fat diet supplemented with fish oil may lead to adverse cardiovascular effects in ApoE deficient mice.