The expression of serum vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 and its relation to cholesterol in the atherosclerotic rabbits

Objective To observe the expression of serum vascular cell adhesion molecule-1(VCAM-1) in atherosclerotic rabbits and its relation to cholesterol and to explore the relationship between VCAM-1 and atherosclerosis.Methods Male white rabbits with big ears randomly divided into normal diet group and highcholesterol diet group with 8 ones in each group were fed for 16 weeks.Blood was sampled from the marginal vein of the ear at the 0,8th and 16th week respectively to determine concentrations of total cholesterol(TC),low density lipoprotein(LDL) and VCAM-1.The rabbits were killed at 16th week to obtain the aorta to conduct pathological examination and to verify the building of atherosclerotic model.Results There were no obvious changes in aorta wall in normal diet group,but in the high-cholesterol diet group atherosclerotic plaques were seen.There were no significant differences in serum TC,LDL and VCAM-1 in normal diet group at the,8th and 16th week(P0.05),but there were significant differences in serum TC,LDL and VCAM-1 level in high-cholesterol diet group at 0,8th and 16th week(P0.01),having the more significant increase at the 16th week than that at the 8th week(P0.01).Conclusions The overexpressed serum VCAM-1 level in atherosclerosis could have positive relation to serum TC and LDL concentrations.