Protective effects of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on macrovascular disease induced by high fat-fed in rats

Objective To investigate the protective effects of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids（PUFA） on endothelial cell damage induced by high fat in insulin-resistant rats. Methods Forty-five Wistar male rats aged 5-6 weeks were randomly divided into control group,high fat-fed（HF） group and n-3 PUFA group.The rats were sacrificed after 11 weeks.Levels of blood glucose,insulin,lipid,visceral fat and expression of ICAM-1,MCP-1 and NF-κB/IκB were measured.Body weight and histological change in aorta were detected. Results The body weight,visceral fat and body weight ration,as well as the levels of blood glucose,insulin,triglyceride,total cholesterol,LDL,and total FFA,were significantly lower in high fat-fed group than in control group（P＜0.01）.The aortic tunica intima was intact,the number of foam cells was decreased,and inflammatory cells infiltrated into the med-intima smooth muscle of the n-3 PUFA group.However,with no such changes were observed in control and n-3 PUFAs groups.Little or no expression of NF-κB,ICAM-1 and MCP-1,and a high expression level of IκBα were detected in aortic tunica intima of the n-3 PUFA and control groups,while high expression levels of NF-κB,ICAM-1 and MCP-1,and little expression of IκBα were detected in aortic tunica intima of the high fat-fed group. Conclusion n-3 PUFA can effectively prevent insulin resistance and macrovascular diseases.