Effect of CCL2 on Arterial Stiffness
Category: Research Poster
Author(s): Isaac Dinsmore, Scott Wrigley, Eliud Rivas Hernandez, Benjamin Kasten, Kira Shryock, Elliot Graham, Christopher Gentile, Tiffany Weir, Yuren Wei
Presenter(s): Isaac Dinsmore
Mentors(s): Christopher Gentile, Tiffany Weir
Heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. Past research has shown that arterial stiffness is an independent predictor of future heart disease. Pulse wave velocity, the gold standard method for assessing arterial stiffness, was used in this study. Previously, we identified a strong correlation between decreased aortic pulse wave velocity (aPWV) and a reduction in circulating chemokines (CCL2) in genetically obese mice treated with an intermittent fasting diet. Therefore, this pilot study was performed to determine if a causal relationship exists between circulating CCL2 and aPWV. Eleven lean mice were assigned to one of four treatments: 60ug, 120ug, or 360ug of CCL2, or vehicle control. Arterial stiffness (aPWV) was assessed at baseline, 24 hours, and 1 week after start of treatment. ΔaPWV/time was insignificant in all treatment groups. However, aPWV was significantly increased in the 120ug CCL2 treatment group when compared to vehicle control at 24 hours (p.adj = 0.045) and 1 week (p.adj = 0.024) after start of treatment. No definitive conclusions can be made due to statistical insignificance in ΔaPWV/time in the 120ug CCL2 treatment group, and the small sample sizes. However, the significantly higher aPWV in the 120ug CCL2 group when compared to vehicle control indicates that 120ug of CCL2 may be sufficient to modulate arterial stiffness. Therefore, a larger cohort study is needed to validate the causal relationship between CCL2 and arterial stiffness.