Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2017-06-14T19:33:16Z No. of bitstreams: 1 alicebelleigolirezende.pdf: 4554252 bytes, checksum: 45624650ab925d7640e01b2b01e2a245 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2017-06-29T12:16:33Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 alicebelleigolirezende.pdf: 4554252 bytes, checksum: 45624650ab925d7640e01b2b01e2a245 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-29T12:16:33Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 alicebelleigolirezende.pdf: 4554252 bytes, checksum: 45624650ab925d7640e01b2b01e2a245 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-08-30 / FAPEMIG - Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais / A aterosclerose é uma doença imune-inflamatória associada ao acúmulo de lípides na camada íntima das artérias. O baço desempenha uma importante função imunológica, mas a sua participação no desenvolvimento da aterosclerose permanece controversa. Considerando que a incidência de esplenectomias totais ainda é alta e que a doença aterosclerótica é prevalente, é de grande importância que se verifique se o tecido esplênico influencia no processo de aterosclerose. Neste trabalho, o impacto da esplenectomia no desenvolvimento da aterosclerose foi avaliado em camundongos deficientes em apoproteína E (apoE). Os animais foram divididos em dois grupos: grupo controle (CT), composto de camundongos deficientes em apoE submetidos a um procedimento cirúrgico simulado; e grupo esplenectomia total (ET), camundongos deficientes em apoE submetidos à esplenectomia total. Trinta dias após a cirurgia, os animais foram submetidos a uma dieta aterogênica enriquecida com 0,15% de colesterol. Após oito semanas, os animais foram eutanasiados e o sangue, o coração e a aorta foram submetidos à análise. Os níveis séricos de colesterol total e de anticorpos anti-LDL oxidada foram avaliados. As áreas de lesão aterosclerótica na raiz da aorta foram quantificadas por morfometria em cortes histológicos corados com hematoxilina-eosina. As lesões ateroscleróticas nas porções torácica e abdominal das aortas foram determinadas pela porcentagem da superfície luminal corada com Sudan IV em relação à área total do vaso. Os resultados mostraram que os níveis séricos de colesterol total não foram alterados pela esplenectomia e que os títulos de anticorpos IgG anti-LDL oxidada foram semelhantes entre os grupos. No entanto, foi observada uma maior porcentagem de lesões ateroscleróticas nas porções torácica e abdominal das aortas de animais esplenectomizados. Além disso, camundongos esplenectomizados apresentaram lesões ateroscleróticas na raiz da aorta significativamente maiores do que os animais controles. Estes dados indicam, em conjunto, que a esplenectomia está associada ao aumento das lesões ateroscleróticas em camundongos deficientes em apoE submetidos à dieta aterogênica, sugerindo um papel ateroprotetor do baço no modelo estudado. / Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory immune disease associated with lipid accumulation in the intima layer of arteries. The spleen plays an important immune function, but its influence in development of atherosclerosis remains unclear. Evaluation of the role of the spleen in atherosclerosis is justified due to the high frequency of total splenectomies and the high prevalence of atherosclerotic disease. In this work, the effect of splenectomy on the development of atherosclerosis in apolipoprotein E (apoE) deficient mice was investigated. ApoE deficient mice were divided into a sham-operated control group (CT) and a splenectomized group (SP). Thirty days after surgery, animals were fed a high fat western diet (with 0.15% cholesterol). After eight weeks, mice were euthanized and their blood, heart, and aorta were subjected to analysis. Total serum cholesterol and anti-oxidized LDL antibodies were measured. Atherosclerotic lesion areas in the aortic root were stained with hematoxylin-eosin and quantified by morfometry. The atherosclerotic lesions in the thoracic and abdominal portions of aorta were determined by assessing the percentage of the luminal surface area stained by Sudan IV. Levels of total serum cholesterol did not vary significantly after splenectomy. Anti-oxidized LDL IgG antibodies were similar between groups. However, compared to the control group, atherosclerotic area in the thoracic and abdominal portions of aorta were significantly increased in splenectomized mice. These data were confirmed by the larger lesions in the aortic root in splenectomized mice. These data indicate that splenectomy increases atherosclerotic lesions in apoE deficient mice fed an atherogenic diet, suggesting a atheroprotector role of the spleen.

Les maladies cardiovasculaires (MCV) constituent la première cause de mortalité dans le monde. Des efforts significatifs ont été menés pour améliorer la prévention des MCV et ont abouti à une réduction du taux de mortalité. Cependant, un ralentissement considérable du taux de réduction des MCV a été observé à partir de 2011 malgré les nouvelles avancées thérapeutiques. Ces taux alarmants justifient le besoin de découvrir de nouvelles thérapies afin d’améliorer la prévention des MCV dans la population générale. Des taux élevés de cholestérol total et transporté par les lipoprotéines de basse densité (LDL) sont fortement liés aux MCV athérosclérotiques. Ainsi, les thérapies hypolipémiantes sont les thérapies les plus utilisées pour prévenir les MCV. Nos résultats antérieurs ont identifié Golgi glycoprotein 1 (GLG1) comme étant une nouvelle protéine impliquée dans le métabolisme lipidique. Par conséquent, notre étude actuelle vise à démontrer l'effet de GLG1 sur le développement de l'athérosclérose. Pour étudier cet effet, nous avons réduit l'expression de GLG1 (silençage génique ou knockdown) dans le foie de souris hypercholestérolémiques Apoe-/- en utilisant un virus adéno-associé de type 8 (AAV8) véhiculant un petit ARN en épingle à cheveux (shRNA) ciblant GLG1. Deux semaines post-injection, les souris ont été nourries par un régime occidental pendant 12 semaines. L'étude a révélé que le knockdown de GLG1 réduit significativement les taux plasmatiques de cholestérol total, de lipoprotéines de très basse densité (VLDL), de LDL et diminue les lésions athérosclérotiques au niveau du sinus aortique. Cependant, nos résultats ont démontré que le knockdown de GLG1 à l’aide du système AAV8 n'était pas stable pendant toute l'étude, le rendant inefficace au-delà de 2 mois. En résumé, nos résultats montrent que le knockdown de GLG1 réduit les taux de cholestérol plasmatique ainsi que la progression de l'athérosclérose chez les souris Apoe-/-. Cette réduction s'est produite en dépit de la perte progressive du knockdown de GLG1 et est probablement liée à la réduction de la sécrétion d'apolipoprotéines B100. Ces résultats montrent que GLG1 est une cible thérapeutique prometteuse pour abaisser les taux de cholestérol plasmatique, en particulier les VLDL et LDL, et prévenir le développement de l'athérosclérose. / Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of death worldwide. Significant efforts have been made to prevent CVD and have resulted in a reduced mortality rate. However, a considerable slowdown in the reduction rate of CVD has been observed starting in 2011 despite new therapeutic advances. These alarming rates justify the need to discover new therapies to improve the prevention of CVD in the general population. High levels of total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) are strongly linked to atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases. Thus, lipid-lowering therapies are the most used therapies to prevent CVDs. Our previous study identified Golgi glycoprotein 1 (GLG1) as a new protein involved in lipid metabolism. Therefore, our current study aims to demonstrate the effect of GLG1 on the development of atherosclerosis. To study the effect of GLG1 on atherosclerosis, we reduced GLG1 expression in hypercholesterolemic Apoe-/- mice livers using an adeno-associated virus coding for a short hairpin RNA (shRNA) targeting GLG1 then 2 weeks post-injection mice were fed a Western diet for 12 weeks. The study revealed that GLG1 knockdown significantly reduced plasma total cholesterol levels, especially very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL)- and LDL-C, and atherosclerotic lesions in the aortic root. However, our results showed that AAV-mediated GLG1 knockdown was not stable during the entire study, making it ineffective in lowering plasma cholesterol levels beyond 2 months. In summary, our results show that lowering GLG1 expression reduces plasma cholesterol levels as well as atherosclerosis progression in Apoe-/- mice. Remarkably, the reduction in atherosclerosis occurred in spite of the gradual loss of GLG1 AAV-mediated knockdown and is likely related to the reduced apolipoptotein B100 secretion. These findings demonstrate that GLG1 is a promising therapeutic target for lowering plasma cholesterol levels, particularly VLDL- and LDL-C, and preventing atherosclerosis development.