Accelerated atherosclerosis long after cola beverages consumption in genetically deficient mice lacking apolipoprotein-E.

OTERO-LOSADA M.; CAO G.; RODRIGUEZ-GRANILLO G; MULLER A; OTTAVIANO G; AMBROSIO G.; MILEI J.

Athens

Congreso; EUROPEAN SOCIETY OF HYPERTENSION (ESH) AND INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF HYPERTENSION (ISH) JOINT MEETING.; 2014

Eur Society of Hypertension

Objective: to test the hypothesis whether cola beverages consumption at early life stages might affect the development and progression of atherosclerosis in adulthood. Design and Method.Sixty ApoE deficient C57BL/6J mice (8 week-old) were randomly distributed in 3 groups (n = 20 each) according to free accessto water (W), sucrose sweetened carbonated cola drink(C) or aspartame-acesulfame K sweetened carbonated ?light? cola drink (L)for the next 8 weeks. Drinking treatment was ended by switching C and L groups to drinking water. Four mice per group and time were sequentially euthanized: before treatment (8weeks-old), at the end of treatment (16 weeks-old) and after treatment discontinuation (20 weeks-old, 24 weeks-old, 30 week-old mice). Aortic roots and livers were harvested, processed for histology and serial cross-sections were stained. Aortic plaque area was analyzed and plaque/media-ratio was calculated. ResultsEarly consumption of cola drinks accelerated atherosclerotic plaque progression favoring the interaction between macrophages and myofibroblasts, without the participation of either T lymphocytes or proliferative activity. Plaque-to-media-ratio varied according to drink treatment (F2,54 = 3.433, p<0.04) and mice age (F4,54 = 5.009, p<0.03) and was higher in C and L groups compared with age-matched W group (p<0.05 at 16 weeks and 20 weeks, p<0.01 at 24 weeks and 30 weeks). Natural evolution of atherosclerosis in ApoE deficient mice (W group) evidenced atherosclerosis acceleration in parallel with a rapid increase in liver inflammation around the 20 weeks of age. Conclusions.Cola drinking within the 8?16 weeks of age accelerated atherosclerosis progression in ApoE deficient mice favoring aortic plaque enlargement (inward remodeling) over media thinning all over the study time. Data suggest that cola drinking at early life stages may predispose to atherosclerosis progression later in life in ApoE deficient mice.