High-cholesterol diet with or without corn oil for establishing atherosclerotic model in rabbits

AIM: To compare the reliability and plaque area between using high-cholesterol diet and high-cholesterol diet with corn oil to establish a rabbit atherosclerotic model. METHODS: Eighteen New Zealand rabbits were randomly divided into 3 groups( 6 rabbits each) : normal diet group( group C),high-cholesterol diet group( group H1) and high-cholesterol diet containing 6% corn oil group( group H2). All rabbits were fed for 12 weeks,and their body measured was weighed at the end of every weeks. The serum levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol( HDL-C),low-density lipoprotein cholesterol( LDL-C),total cholesterol( TC) and triglyceride( TG) were measured by automatic chemistry analyzer at 0 week and 12 weeks. At the end of 12 weeks,the thoracic aorta of 8-cm length since aortic root was isolated from the rabbit after anesthesia,and stained with Sudan IV or oil red O to verify the existence of plaque. The percentage of plaque area( PA /IA) in the intima area was further calculated by ImageJ2x software. RESULTS: At the end of 12-week feeding,the serum levels of HDL-C,LDL-C and TC in both group H1 and group H2 were significantly higher than those in group C,and serum TG in group H2 was significantly higher than that in group C. Serum HDL-C in group H2 was significantly higher than that in group H1,but no significant difference of serum LDL-C,TC and TG between group H1 and group H2 was found. There was no plaque in the intima in group C,and plaques were observed in the intima of all rabbits ingroup H1 and group H2. Rabbit atherosclerotic models in both group H1 and group H2 were established with a success rate of 100%. The values of PA /IA in group H1 [( 49. 74 ± 18. 78) %]and group H2 [( 56. 95 ± 26. 74) %] were both significantly higher than that in group C( 0%),and no significant difference of PA /IA between group H1 and group H2 was observed. CONCLUSION: High-cholesterol diet with or without corn oil can establish a rabbit atherosclerotic model with a success rate of 100% after 12-week feeding,and the percentage of plaque area in the total aortic intimal area is not different in the 2 feeding methods.