The effect of atorvastatin calcium on artherosclerosis in rabbits

Objective To observe the protective effect of atorvastatin calcium on atherosclerotic vascular endothelial in rabbits.Methods 30 healthy male Japanese rabbits at 4 months age were randomly divided into 3 groups,10 rabbits in each group.The rabbits in control group were fed with common diet;the rabbits in model group were fed with high fat diet(high fat diet ingredient:1% cholesterol and 10% lard + 7.5% egg yolk powder + 81.5% common forage) ;the those in treatment groups were fed with high fat diet and atorvastatin calcium 5mg.kg-1.d-1.All the rabbits were fed for 12 weeks.At the end of the experiment,all the rabbits were killed.The blood samples were collected for measuring the levels of serum lipids,NO,ET-1,and the artery was obtained to be observed pathologically.Results As compared with those in control group,the levels of serum TC,TG,LDL-C,ET-1 were increased significantly,while the levels of serum HDL-C,NO were decreased significantly in model group and treatment group(P 0.01).The vessels intima was severely thicken and the atherosclerotic plaque was formed,which contained a large number of foam cells,with typical performance of atherosclerosis in model group.As compared with those in model group,the levels of serum TC,TG,LDL-C,ET-1 were reduced significantly,while the levels of serum HDL-C,NO were increased significantly(P 0.01).The vessels intima was slightly thicken,with less amount of foam cells and atherosclerotic degree was significantly reduced in treatment group.Conclusion In addition to a powerful lipid-lowering function,atorvastatin calcium can improve endothelial function and prevent the development of atherosclerosis by increasing NO levels and decreasing ET-1 levels.