Atherosclerosis is the leading cause of cardio-cerebrovascular disease, which is the most prevalent illness and cause of death interiorly and worldwide. It is revealed that disordered intestinal microbial metabolism induces the occurrence and development of cardio-cerebrovascular disease.

Resveratrol, a natural plant polyphenol, can alleviate and even abrogate the occurrence and development of atherosclerosis by intervening intestinal microbial metabolism. Scientists suspect that whether there are metabolites in the intestine that are not related to bacterial metabolism but play key roles in the occurrence and development of atherosclerosis, and that how resveratrol works.  

DONG Sijun's team from the Institute of Urban Environment of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, together with collobrators, has constructed an atherosclerosis and the resveratrol intervention model.

GC-MS based metabolomics revealed that multiple metabolic pathways were altered in the intestine of atherosclerotic mice, which was responsive to resveratrol intervention.

Oleate, a main fatty acid in the intestine, accumulated in the intestine and serum, and induced lipid accumulation in RAW 264.7 macrophages. Extracellular cholesterol changes confirmed that oleate exposure reduced the contents of extracellular total cholesterol, free cholesterol and cholesterol ester, but above effects were abolished by the intervention of resveratrol, WY14643 or pioglitazone.

This study provides the first evidence that resveratrol abolishes intestinal fatty acid and monoglyceride accumulation in atherosclerotic mice, and that resveratrol suppresses oleate-induced accumulation of total cholesterol, esterified cholesterol and neutral lipids in macrophages by activating PPARA/G.  

This study entitled "Resveratrol inhibits lipid accumulation in the intestine of atherosclerotic mice and macrophages" was published in Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine.

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and other fundings.  

Schematic diagram of molecular mechanisms by which resveratrol inhibits the occurrence and development of atherosclerosis (Image by DONG Sijun)