Implication of Vitamin A deficiency on vascular injury related to inflammation and oxidative stress. Effects on the ultrastructure of rat aorta.

GATICA L; OLIVEROS L; PEREZ DIAZ M; DOMINGUEZ N; FORNES M; GIMENEZ M S

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NUTRITION

DR DIETRICH STEINKOPFF VERLAG

Año: 2011

1436-6207

Background Vitamin A deficiency induces activation ofNF-kB and impairs activities of antioxidant enzymes inaorta.Aim of the study We study the effect of vitamin A deficiencyon the aorta histoarchitecture and the possiblycontribution of its prooxidant and inflammatory effects toartery alterations.Methods Twenty-one-day-old Wistar male rats were fedduring 3 months with vitamin A-deficient diet (-A, n = 8)or the same diet containing 8 mg of retinol palmitate/kg ofdiet (?A, control, n = 8). In aortas, thiobarbituric reactivesubstances and reduced glutathione levels were measuredby spectrophotometry. Expressions of TNF-alpha, NOX-2,VCAM-1, and TGF-beta1 were assessed by RT?PCR andWestern Blot. The morphology of aorta was examined bylight and transmission electron microscopy.Results In -A rats, high levels of TBARS in serum andaorta and low levels of GSH in aorta were found. Anincreased expression of TNF-alpha, NOX-2, VCAM-1, andTGF-beta1 in aorta from-Arats was observed. Examinationof the intimal layer by light microscopy indicated the presenceof an irregular surface in -A aortas. TEM studiesshowed large vacuoles and multivesicular bodies along theendothelium and also multivesicular bodies in the subendothelialspace of aortas from -A rats. Furthermore, thehistological appearance of internal elastic lamina was differentfrom control. Small vesicles in the medial layer wereobserved in aortas from vitamin A-deficient rats.Conclusions Vitamin A deficiency produces histoarchitecturalalterations in aorta, which can be associated, atleast in part, to the oxidative stress and inflammationinduced by vitamin A deficiency.