Promotion of atherogenesis by copper or iron-Which is more likely?

Journal Article · Fri Feb 02 00:00:00 EST 2007 · Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbrc.2006.11.038· OSTI ID:20857976

Rajendran, Reshmi ^[1]; Ren, Minqin ^[1]; Ning, Pan ^[2]; Tan Kwong Huat, Benny ^[3]; Halliwell, Barry ^[2]; Watt, Frank ^[1]

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1. Centre for Ion Beam Applications, Department of Physics, National University of Singapore, MD7, 8 Medical Drive, Singapore 117597 (Singapore)
2. Department of Biochemistry, National University of Singapore, MD7, 8 Medical Drive, Singapore 117597 (Singapore)
3. Department of Pharmacology, National University of Singapore, MD7, 8 Medical Drive, Singapore 117597 (Singapore)

Iron levels increase in atherosclerotic lesions in cholesterol fed-rabbits and play a role in atherosclerosis. We investigated whether copper also rises. Male New Zealand White rabbits were fed high-cholesterol diets for 8 weeks. After sacrifice, lesion sizes were determined, and elemental analyses of the lesion and unaffected artery wall performed using nuclear microscopy. Unlike iron, lesion copper is decreased by about half compared with the unaffected artery wall, and much less copper than iron is present. Our data suggest that iron may be more likely to play a role in the promotion of atherosclerosis than copper.

• OSTI ID: 20857976
• Journal Information: Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, Vol. 353, Issue 1; Other Information: DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2006.11.038; PII: S0006-291X(06)02514-9; Copyright (c) 2006 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0006-291X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES
ARTERIES
ARTERIOSCLEROSIS
CHOLESTEROL
COPPER
IRON
MICROSCOPY
RABBITS