ATO inhibits inflammatory factor expression in
ApoE-/- mice and macrophages
Mounting evidence points towards a
role of inflammation in plaque progression and vulnerability
(Kataoka et al. , 2015). We
analysed inflammatory cytokine expression in carotid plaques in control
and ATO-treated mice. Our results showed that IL-6 and TNFα mRNA levels
were significantly decreased, whereas IL-10 mRNA expression was
increased in the ATO group (Figure 3D-F). A similar tendency was
observed for inflammatory cytokines in the serum (Figure 3A-C). These
results suggest that ATO attenuates atherosclerosis by inhibiting the
expression and secretion of inflammatory factors in the entire body and
lesions of ApoE-/- mice. Consistently, ATO
significantly reduced the IL-6 and TNFα mRNA levels in ox-LDL treated
RAW264.7 cells (Figure 3G, H), while increasing the IL-10 mRNA levels
(Figure 3I). These data suggest that ATO reduces the expression and
secretion of inflammatory factors.