| First Author | Matsui Y | Year | 2003 |
| Journal | Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol | Volume | 23 |
| Issue | 6 | Pages | 1029-34 |
| PubMed ID | 12730087 | Mgi Jnum | J:103051 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3608395 | Doi | 10.1161/01.ATV.0000074878.29805.D0 |
| Citation | Matsui Y, et al. (2003) Osteopontin deficiency attenuates atherosclerosis in female apolipoprotein E-deficient mice. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 23(6):1029-34 |
| abstractText | OBJECTIVE: Osteopontin (OPN), a noncollagenous adhesive protein, is implicated in atherosclerosis, in which macrophages within atherosclerotic plaques express OPN. However, it is not known whether the elevated OPN expression is a cause or result of atherosclerosis. METHODS AND RESULTS: We generated mice that lacked OPN and crossed them with apolipoprotein (apo) E-deficient mice and analyzed these mice with a mixed C57BL/6x129 background after 36 weeks on a normal chow diet. In female mice, OP+/-E-/- and OP-/-E-/- mice had significantly smaller atherosclerotic and inflammatory lesions compared with OP+/+E-/- mice, and that was reflected by smaller area of MOMA-2-positive staining. In male mice, however, there was no significant difference in the atherosclerosis lesion areas among 3 genotypes. In both OP-/-E-/- and OP+/+E-/- mice, typical atherosclerotic lesions were detected, which include necrotic core, foamy cell collections, and cholesterol clefts. However, we found that vascular mineral-deposited areas in 60-week-old male OP-/-E-/- mice were significantly increased compared with those in OP+/+E-/- male mice. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that OPN plays a promoting effect in atherosclerosis and inhibitory effect in vascular calcification. The suppression of OPN expression in females should be considered a therapeutic possibility in atherosclerosis. |
