Regular transient limb ischemia protects endothelial function against hypercholesterolemic damage in rabbits

Abstract

Regular transient limb ischemia (RTLI) can prevent atherosclerosis in hypercholesterolemic rabbits. As endothelial dysfunction is the initial factor leading to atherosclerosis, we investigated the effect of RTLI on endothelial function in hypercholesterolemic rabbits. We randomly allocated 15 New Zealand white rabbits to three groups, five animals per group: the hypercholesterolemic group (Group H), the sham RTLI group (Group S), and the RTLI group (Group L). All rabbits received hypercholesterolemic fodder daily. No intervention was performed on the rabbits in Group H. Rabbits in Group S were kept in hutches, with a deflated cuff applied to their left hind limb for 60 min every day. For rabbits in Group L, RTLI (six cycles of 5-min ischemia and 5-min reperfusion of the left hind limb) was applied once daily for 12 weeks. At the end of week 12, a segment of the abdominal aorta was isolated from each rabbit for in vitro measurement of the endothelium-dependent vasodilation (EDV) response to different concentrations of acetylcholine and the endothelium-independent vasodilation (EIV) response to sodium nitroprusside. The EDV response was significantly higher in Group L than in Groups S and H ( p < 0.05), with no significant difference between Groups S and H ( p > 0.05). There was no difference in the EIV response among the three groups. RTLI could improve the EDV response, protecting endothelial function against hypercholesterolemic damage.

Regular transient limb ischemia improves endothelial function and inhibits endothelial cell apoptosis to prevent atherosclerosis in rabbit

“…The results showed that RTLI could reduce the proportion of plaque area in the aorta, which demonstrated that six cycles of RTLI over a span of 12 weeks could prevent AS progression [ 12 ]. Furthermore, the same cycle of RTLI could protect endothelial cells by improving the vasodilation function [ 13 ]. However, whether lower intensity RTLI would have similar preventive effects on AS remains unknown, as do the possible mechanisms.…”