Establishment of a rat model of atherosclerosis using vitamin D_3 and high-fat diet

Objective To explore an efficient method to establish a rat model of atherosclerosis using vitamin D3 and high-fat diet. Methods Sixty healthy Wistar rats were randomly divided into 3 groups: control group, high-fat diet group and model group. Four weeks later, calciumion, triglyeride, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein and low- density lipoprotein in rat serum were detected, and the sections of thoracic aorta and liver tissue were prepared for morphology observation. Results The levels of serologic indexes in model group were obviously higher than those in control group and in high-fat diet group(P 0.05); Obvious calcification, smooth muscle cell proliferation and foam cells could be observed under aortic intima in model group. Lots of fat drop vacuoles were appeared in the liver cells in the model group, and the liver coefficient in model group was obviously higher than that in control group and in high-fat diet group(P 0.05). Conclusion The rat model of atherosclerosis can be successfully established using vitamin D3 combined with high-fat diet.