Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) can inhibit experimental atherosclerosis in animals. Although the agent
is an antioxidant, the exact mechanism of the reaction in atherosclerosis is still unknown. To
investigate the effects of BHT on expression of P-selectin (PADGEM, GMP-140), intercellular adhesion
molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and class II MHC (Ia) antigen, we proposed an experiment on rats. Male rats (n=18
per group) were fed either a normal cholesterol control diet, a normal cholesterol diet containing 0.5%
BHT (BD), a high cholesterol diet containing 1.5% cholesterol and 0.1% sodium cholate (CD), or the CD
diet containing 0.5% BHT (BCD). Rats were sacrificed after 3 days, and after 1, 2, 4, 10, and 17 weeks
of dietary treatment. Although there was no gross or light microscopic atherosclerotic lesions, scanning
electron microscopy revealed monocytic adhesion to aortic endothelium and mild endothelial injuries in
CD and BCD groups. Immunohistochemically, the addition of BHT to a high cholesterol diet inhibited
P-selectin expression but not in ICAM-1 and Ia antigen. These findings suggest that in rats, high
cholesterol diets induce expression of ICAM-1, P-selectin and Ia antigen. In addition, the antiatherogenic
effect of BHT may play a role in the inhibition of P-selectin.
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