Objectives-Obesity causes inflammation and insulin resistance in the vasculature as well as in tissues involved in glucose metabolism such as liver, muscle, and adipose tissue. To investigate the relative susceptibility of vascular tissue to these effects, we determined the time course over which inflammation and insulin resistance develops in various tissues of mice with diet-induced obesity (DIO) and compared these tissue-based responses to changes in circulating inflammatory markers. Methods and Results-Adult male C57BL/6 mice were fed either a control low-fat diet (LF; 10% saturated fat) or a high-fat diet (HF, 60% saturated fat) for durations ranging between 1 to 14 weeks. Cellular inflammation and insulin resistance were assessed by measuring phospho-IB␣ and insulin-induced phosphorylation of Akt, respectively, in extracts of thoracic aorta, liver, skeletal muscle, and visceral fat. As expected, HF feeding induced rapid increases of body weight, fat mass, and fasting insulin levels compared to controls, each of which achieved statistical significance within 4 weeks. Whereas plasma markers of inflammation became elevated relatively late in the course of DIO (eg, serum amyloid A [SAA], by Week 14), levels of phospho-IB␣ in aortic lysates were elevated by 2-fold within the first week. The early onset of vascular inflammation was accompanied by biochemical evidence of both endothelial dysfunction (reduced nitric oxide production; induction of intracellular adhesion molecule-1 and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1) and insulin resistance (impaired insulin-induced phosphorylation of Akt and eNOS). Although inflammation and insulin resistance were also detected in skeletal muscle and liver of HF-fed animals, these responses were observed much later (between 4 and 8 weeks of HF feeding), and they were not detected in visceral adipose tissue until 14 weeks. Conclusions-During obesity induced by HF feeding, inflammation and insulin resistance develop in the vasculature well before these responses are detected in muscle, liver, or adipose tissue. This observation suggests that the vasculature is more susceptible than other tissues to the deleterious effects of nutrient overload.

Objective-Chronic systemic inflammation accompanies obesity and predicts development of cardiovascular disease.Dietary cholesterol has been shown to increase inflammation and atherosclerosis in LDL receptor-deficient (LDLR Ϫ/Ϫ ) mice. This study was undertaken to determine whether dietary cholesterol and obesity have additive effects on inflammation and atherosclerosis. Methods and Results-LDLRϪ/Ϫ mice were fed chow, high-fat, high-carbohydrate (diabetogenic) diets without (DD) or with added cholesterol (DDC) for 24 weeks. Effects on adipose tissue, inflammatory markers, and atherosclerosis were studied. Despite similar weight gain between DD and DDC groups, addition of dietary cholesterol increased insulin resistance relative to DD. Adipocyte hypertrophy, macrophage accumulation, and local inflammation were observed in intraabdominal adipose tissue in DD and DDC, but were significantly higher in the DDC group. Circulating levels of the inflammatory protein serum amyloid A (SAA) were 4.4-fold higher in DD animals and 15-fold higher in DDC animals than controls, suggesting chronic systemic inflammation. Hepatic SAA mRNA levels were similarly elevated. Atherosclerosis was increased in the DD-fed animals and further increased in the DDC group. Conclusions-Obesity-induced

Objective-Osteoprotegerin (OPG), a member of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) superfamily of proteins, plays an important role in bone remodeling and is expressed in both mouse and human atherosclerotic lesions. The current study was designed to assess whether OPG plays a role in the progression and calcification of advanced atherosclerotic lesions in apoE Ϫ/Ϫ mice. Methods and Results-Atherosclerotic lesion area and composition and aortic calcium content were examined in mice deficient in both OPG and apolipoprotein E (OPG Ϫ/Ϫ .apoE Ϫ/Ϫ mice) at 20, 40, and 60 weeks of age. Littermate OPG ϩ/ϩ .apoE Ϫ/Ϫ mice were used as controls. The average cross-sectional area of lesions in the innominate arteries was increased in OPG Ϫ/Ϫ .apoE Ϫ/Ϫ mice at 40 and 60 weeks of age. The increase in lesion area was coupled with a reduced cellularity and an increase in connective tissue including laminated layers of elastin. Sixty-week-old OPG Ϫ/Ϫ .apoEmice also had an increase in the area of calcification of the lesions. There were no differences in markers of plaque stability. In vitro, OPG induced matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) activity in macrophages and smooth muscle cells and acted as a survival factor for serum-deprived smooth muscle cells. Conclusion-OPG inhibits advanced plaque progression by preventing an increase in lesion size and lesion calcification.OPG may act as a survival factor and may modulate MMP9 production in vascular cells.

Background-Elevated serum amyloid A (SAA) levels are associated with increased cardiovascular risk. SAA levels can be increased by dietary fat and cholesterol. Moreover, SAA can cause lipoproteins to bind extracellular vascular proteoglycans, a process that is critical in atherogenesis. Therefore, we hypothesized that diet-induced increases in SAA would increase atherosclerosis independent of their effect on plasma cholesterol levels. Methods and Results-Female LDL-receptor-null (LDLR Ϫ/Ϫ ) mice were fed high-saturated fat diets (21%, wt/wt), with or without added cholesterol (0.15%, wt/wt), for 10 weeks. Compared with chow-fed controls, the high-fat diets increased plasma SAA levels. Addition of cholesterol further increased SAA levels 2-fold (PϽ0.05) without further increasing plasma cholesterol levels. Addition of dietary cholesterol also increased atherosclerosis (PϽ0.05). Four lines of evidence suggest that SAA actually might cause atherosclerosis: (1) SAA levels when mice were euthanized correlated with the extent of atherosclerosis (rϭ0.49; PϽ0.02); (2) SAA levels after 5 weeks of diet correlated with the extent of atherosclerosis at 10 weeks (rϭ0.66; PϽ0.01); (3) binding of HDL from these animals to proteoglycans in vitro was related to the HDL-SAA content (rϭ0.65; PϽ0.01); and (4) immunoreactive SAA was present in lesion areas enriched with both proteoglycans and apolipoprotein A-I, the major HDL apolipoprotein.