High-fat diet increased aortic stiffness by 120 ± 18 cm/s in young mice (P<0.001) and by 108 ± 47 cm/s in old mice, with differing structural mechanisms between age groups.
Does a high-fat diet increase aortic stiffness in young and old mice?
Both aging and high-fat diet increase aortic stiffness in mice, but the structural mechanisms underlying this stiffening differ between young and old animals.
p-value: p=<0.001
Abstract Advancing age is associated with increased stiffness of large elastic arteries as assessed by aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV). Greater PWV, associated with increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, may result from altered expression of the extracellular matrix proteins, collagen and elastin, as well as cross-linking of proteins by advanced glycation end products (AGEs). Indeed, aortic PWV is greater in old (28-31 months) normal chow (NC, 16% fat by kcal)-fed male B6D2F1 mice compared with young (Y: 5-7 months) NC-fed mice (397 ± 8 vs. 324 ± 14 cm/s, P < 0.05). Aging also induces a ~120% increase in total aortic collagen content assessed by picosirius red stain, a ~40% reduction in medial elastin assessed by Verhoeff's Van Geison stain, as well as a 90% greater abundance of AGEs in the aorta (P < 0.05). The typical American diet contains high dietary fat and may contribute to the etiology of arterial stiffening. To that end, we hypothesized that the age-associated detriments in arterial stiffening are exacerbated in the face of high dietary fat. In young animals, high-fat (40% fat by kcal) diet increases aortic stiffness by 120 ± 18 cm/s relative to age-matched NC-fed mice (P < 0.001). High-fat was without effect on aortic collagen or AGEs content in young animals; however, elastin was greatly reduced (~30%) after high-fat in young mice. In old animals, high-fat increased aortic stiffness by 108 ± 47 cm/s but was without effect on total collagen content, medial elastin, or AGEs. These data demonstrate that both aging and high-fat diet increase aortic stiffness, and although a reduction in medial elastin may underlie increased stiffness in young mice, stiffening of the aorta in old mice after high-fat diet does not appear to result from a similar structural modification.
Henson et al. (Sat,) conducted a other in Aortic stiffening. High-fat diet (40% fat by kcal) vs. Normal chow (16% fat by kcal) was evaluated on Aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) (p=<0.001). High-fat diet increased aortic stiffness by 120 ± 18 cm/s in young mice (P<0.001) and by 108 ± 47 cm/s in old mice, with differing structural mechanisms between age groups.