Background
The
Conclusions
AGP appeared to suppress neointimal formation by inhibiting inflammation, independently of its effects on glucose or cholesterol metabolism in atherogenic LKO mice.
Results
We compared intimal hyperplasia in LKO mice 2 weeks after femoral artery injury using an external vascular cuff model. All mice received oral injection of AGP (20 mg/kg per day) or normal saline (control) once daily for 14 days. Fasting blood sugar levels, serum cholesterol levels, or blood pressure did not significantly differ between the 2 groups. Plasma levels of active glucagon-like peptide-1 were higher in the AGP than in the control LKO mice (22.2±1.9 versus 15.6±0.9 pg/mL; P<0.05). Compared with saline, AGP significantly reduced intimal hyperplasia (1087±127 versus 1896±140 μm(2); P<0.001) as well as the intima/media ratio (0.08±0.01 versus 0.16±0.02; P<0.001). Immunostaining showed that AGP reduced proliferating cells (proliferating cell nuclear antigen-positive nuclei; P<0.001), percent smooth-muscle cell area (α-SMA-positive cells; P<0.001), inflammatory cells infiltration (lymphocyte antigen 6 complex-positive cells; P<0.05), tumor necrosis factor-α expression (P<0.05), and percent phospho-NF-κB-positive cell compared with saline. Levels of tumor necrosis factor -α (0.5-fold P<0.05), monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (0.3-fold P<0.01), and interleukin-1β (0.2-fold P<0.05) mRNA were lower in the injured arteries of the AGP than in the control group. Conclusions: AGP appeared to suppress neointimal formation by inhibiting inflammation, independently of its effects on glucose or cholesterol metabolism in atherogenic LKO mice.