Dietary flaxseed has been shown to have potent antiatherogenic effects in rabbits. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the antiatherogenic capacity of flaxseed in an animal model that more closely represents the human atherosclerotic condition, the LDL receptor-deficient mouse (LDLrKO), and to identify the cellular mechanisms for these effects. LDLrKO mice were administered a regular diet (RG), a 10% flaxseed-supplemented diet (FX), or an atherogenic diet containing 2% cholesterol alone (CH) or supplemented with 10% flaxseed (CF), 5% flaxseed (CF5), 1% flaxseed (CF1), or 5% coconut oil (CS) for 24 wk. LDLrKO mice fed a cholesterol-supplemented diet exhibited a rise in plasma cholesterol without a change in triglycerides and an increase in atherosclerotic plaque formation. The CS mice exhibited elevated levels of plasma cholesterol, triglycerides, and saturated fatty acids and an increase in plaque development. Supplementation of the cholesterol-enriched diet with 10% (wt/wt) ground flaxseed lowered plasma cholesterol and saturated fatty acids, increased plasma ALA, and inhibited plaque formation in the aorta and aortic sinus compared with mice fed a diet supplemented with only dietary cholesterol. The expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and the inflammatory markers IL-6, mac-3, and VCAM-1 was increased in aortic tissue from CH and CS mice. This expression was significantly reduced or normalized when flaxseed was included in the diet. Our results demonstrate that dietary flaxseed can inhibit atherosclerosis in the LDLrKO mouse through a reduction of circulating cholesterol levels and, at a cellular level, via antiproliferative and anti-inflammatory actions.
Coxsackievirus B3, a cytopathic virus in the family Picornaviridae, induces degenerative changes in host cell morphology. Here we demonstrate cytochrome c release and caspases-2, -3, -6, -7, -8, and -9 processing. Enforced Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL expression markedly reduced release of cytochrome c, presentation of the mitochondrial epitope 7A6, and depressed caspase activation following infection. In comparison, cell death using TRAIL ligand caused caspase-8 processing prior to cytochrome c release and executioner caspases and cell death was only partially rescued by Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL overexpression. Disruption of the mitochondrial inner membrane potential following CVB3 infection was not inhibited by zVAD.fmk treatment. Bcl-2 or Bcl-xL overexpression or zVAD.fmk treatment delayed the loss of host cell viability and decreased progeny virus release following infection. Our data suggest that mitochondrial release of cytochrome c may be an important early event in caspase activation in CVB3 infection, and, as such, may contribute to the loss of host-cell viability and progeny virus release.
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