Bioacoustics Research Lab
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering | Department of Bioengineering
Department of Statistics | Coordinated Science Laboratory | Beckman Institute | Food Science and Human Nutrition | Division of Nutritional Sciences | College of Engineering
 Friday, March 29th, 2024
BRL Home
About BRL
Publications
Projects
People
History
Facilities
Abstracts Database
Seminars
Downloads
Archives
Bioengineering Research Partnership
William D. O'Brien, Jr. publications:

Michael L. Oelze publications:

Aiguo Han publications:

Dietary Magnesium Intake and Atherosclerotic Plaque Development in Rabbits

By Jen King, Graduate Student

Epidemiological evidence suggests that there is an inverse association between dietary magnesium (Mg) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) incidence. Mg deficiency has been shown to intensify cardiovascular lipid deposition in animal models. Moreover, a large amount of evidence supports the paradigm of inflammation and endothelial dysfunction as the common link between risk factors and atherosclerotic burden in CVD. We hypothesize that habitual intake of a diet rich in Mg will reduce the risk development of atherosclerotic plaque development in rabbits fed high fat, cholesterol-containing diets. We further hypothesize that in low Mg status that there will be enhancement of inflammation in the artery wall.

To study the effects of Mg on total serum cholesterol and atherosclerosis development, a rabbit atherosclerotic model is used. Rabbits are fed a diet with increased fat and cholesterol and containing 0.11%, 0.25%, or 0.40% Mg. Atherosclerotic plaque development (see Figure 1), serum cholesterol, liver lipid, liver cholesterol, serum C-reactive protein, serum thrombomodulin, serum Mg, cardiac Mg, red blood cell Mg, and skeletal muscle Mg will then be assessed.

JenKingImage.jpg

Fig 1. A. Rabbit fed normal diet. The intimal layer of the ascending and descending aorta has a uniform surface texture and thickness (i.e., normal). B. Rabbit fed high cholesterol diet. The intimal layer of the ascending and descending aorta is raised, uneven in thickness, and has a yellow-white discoloration (*) (i.e., lipid [atheromatous plaque]). C. Rabbit fed normal diet. Note that the intimal layer in this histologic section is normal and has a normal thickness. No lipid is present in the intima. H&E stain. D. Rabbit fed high cholesterol diet. Note that the intimal layer in this histologic section is thickened and contains abundant lipid in macrophages (*) (foam cells). H&E stain. E. Rabbit fed high cholesterol diet. Note the lipid in the intimal layer of the auricular artery and one of its branches (arrows). H&E stain. F. Rabbit fed high cholesterol diet. Macrophages swollen by the accumulation of cytoplasmic lipid (foam cells) are present in the intimal layer of the aorta (arrows). H&E stain. G. Rabbit fed normal diet. Normal liver. H&E stain. H. Rabbit fed high cholesterol diet. Note the swollen hepatocytes (lipid) in the liver (hepatic lipidosis). H&E stain. Inset: The use of an oil-red-O histochemical stain demonstrates the presence of lipid in a frozen section of the liver. Oil-red-O stain.