Ghrelin Does not Alter Aortic Intima-Media Thickness and Adipose Tissue Characteristics in Control and Obese Mice

Objective(s): Atherosclerosis is a chronic immune-inflammatory disease that generally leads to ischemic heart disease. Ghrelin has several modulatory effects on cardiovascular system. In this study, we investigated the effect of ghrelin on aortic intima-media thickness, size and the number of adipocyte cells in obese and control mice. Materials and Methods:This study was conducted on 24 male C57BL/6 mice. The animals were divided into four groups: control, obese (received high fat diet), control+ghrelin (injected with 100 µg/Kg subcutaneously, bid) and obese+ghrelin (n=6 each). After 10 days, animals were sacrificed and epididymal adipose tissue and thoracic aortae were removed. Adipocyte cell number, size and aortic intima-media thickness were evaluated. Results:Ghrelin did not change adipocyte cell number and size and aortic intima-media thickness in obese and control mice. In this study, high fat diet significantly decreased the number of adipocyte cells while increased their size (P0.05). In addition, it could not alter aortic intima-media thickness in both groups. Conclusion: Although ghrelin has several cardiovascular effects, it seems that it could not alter the size and number of adipocyte cells and aortic intima-media thickness in diet-induced obese mice