Researchers compared the efficacy of mussel and fish oils in preventing atherosclerosis in apolipoprotein E-null (ApoE−/−) mice. Their findings revealed that mussel oil (MO) supplementation over 12 weeks significantly outperformed fish oil (FO) in preventing atherosclerotic plaque buildup in the aorta. MO-supplemented mice further presented lower lipid deposition, macrophage (in the aortic sinus) contents, and smooth muscle cell (SMC) contents than their FO-supplemented counterparts. Analyses of MO and FO effects on the aorta suggest that MO's potency may be due to its ability to downregulate the p38MAPK/NF-κB signaling pathway.
Study
Mussel oil for use in this study was obtained using lyophilization followed by supercritical fluid extraction. FO and CO were purchased from licensed distributors. The sample cohort comprised six-week-old male C57BL/6 J mice (wild type [WT]; n = 6) and male ApoE−/− C57BL/6 J mice (n = 24) of the same age. Following one week of acclimatization, the ApoE−/− cohort was randomly assigned to one of four experimental interventions – corn oil (CO), FO, MO, or aspirin (ASP; 0.5 mg/mL) dissolved in CO. Their feed was high in fat and cholesterol (HFHC). The WT cohort represented the health control group, whose treatment was an equal amount of CO (0.1 mL/10 g/day) and fed a standard chow diet.
Study investigations included histologic analysis and atherosclerotic plaque quantitation via a combination of staining (hematoxylin-eosin and Oil-red O), microscopy, and cryotomy techniques. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect macrophages and smooth muscle cells (SMCs) belonging to the aortic sinus. Additionally, fatty acids, serum lipids, and inflammatory factors were quantified.
Western blotting analyses were used to determine aortal gene protein levels. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) techniques were used to investigate quantities of furan fatty acids and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to quantify astaxanthin. Between-group results comparisons were tested for significance using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Fisher's least significant difference (LSD) tests.
Results
Comparisons in atherosclerotic plaque area and lesion area between the treatment cohorts using the CON group as a baseline revealed that the CO group was the worst affected. Surprisingly, despite slight reductions in lesion area, FO was not found to vary from CO outcomes statistically. The MO group was found to fare much better, with lesion and plaque areas comparable to those of fish oASP and CON groups.
Quantification of SMCs revealed similar trends – the number of SMCs in the MO group was significantly lower than the CO and FO groups and was comparable to ASP results. In contrast, CO and MO cohort results were statistically indistinguishable in macrophage analyses.
Intriguingly, the MO group displayed substantially lower levels of p65NF-κB, p38MAPK, and VCAM-1 protein expression than FO mice. Given the similarities in the other n-3 PUFA characteristics of MO and FO, this pathway downregulation suggests itself as the mechanism of action behind MO's unexpectedly improved anti-atherosclerosis potential over FO.
Conclusion
The present study reveals that mussel oil significantly outperforms fish oils in anti-atherosclerosis efficacy in murine ApoE−/− model systems. When combined with the sustainability of harvesting mussels compared to their fish counterparts, this presents the former as an ideal candidate to replace the latter in atherosclerosis research and future interventions.
Source:
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20240214/Mussel-oil-beats-fish-oil-in-atherosclerosis-prevention-animal-study-finds.aspx