Journal
MOLECULAR NUTRITION & FOOD RESEARCH
Volume 56, Issue 7, Pages 1097-1105Publisher
WILEY-BLACKWELL
DOI: 10.1002/mnfr.201100776
Keywords
Atherosclerosis; Cholesterol; Inflammation; Western diet; Zinc deficiency
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Funding
- Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services of the Scottish Government
- National Research Foundation of Korea [NRF 220-2008-1-F00013]
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Scope Cardiovascular health is strongly influenced by diet. Zinc has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties but its long-term influence on vascular health at dietary intake levels relevant to the human population in developed countries has not been studied. We investigated the influence of suboptimal zinc intake in a Western-type diet on the development of vascular inflammation and arterial plaque in apoE knock-out (AEKO) mice. Methods and results Weanling AEKO and wild-type (WT) controls were given high saturated fat (21% w/w) and high cholesterol (0.15%) semi-synthetic diets containing 3 or 35 mg Zn/kg (AEKO and WT) or 8 mg Zn/kg (AEKO only) for over 6 months. AEKO mice on zinc intakes of 3 and 8 mg Zn/kg (suboptimal zinc) developed significantly (p < 0.05) more aortic plaque than AEKO mice consuming 35 mg Zn/kg (adequate zinc). Circulating levels of interleukin-1 beta, interleukin-6 and soluble vascular adhesion molecule-1 were significantly (p < 0.05) raised at the lowest zinc intake in AEKO mice, as compared to zinc-adequate controls. Plasma total cholesterol and total protein were also significantly (p < 0.05) increased at the lowest zinc intake. Conclusion We propose that suboptimal dietary zinc intake raises circulating pro-atherogenic lipoprotein levels that promote vascular inflammation and enhance arterial plaque formation.
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