AIM Probucol has antioxidant as well as cholesterol-lowering effects. We examined the effect of probucol on the progression of diabetic nephropathy. We named this study 'Sakura Study' after our hospital and city. METHODS We performed a randomized, open trial on 162 type 2 diabetic patients with clinical albuminuria (urinary albumin excretion >300 mg/g creatinine). Eighty patients were assigne...

Macrophage-derived foam cells are known to play an essential role in the development and progression of atherosclerotic lesions. Probucol prevents oxidative modification of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and lowers plasma contents of LDL and high-density lipoprotein (HDL). A recent report using apoE -/- mice demonstrated that probucol treatment enhanced atherosclerosis in apoE -/- mice more rapi...

Probucol, a lipid-lowering agent with anti-oxidant properties, is involved in protection against atherosclerosis, while cilostazol, an antiplatelet agent, has diverse neuroprotective properties. In this study, we investigated the anti-inflammatory effects of probucol and cilostazol on focal cerebral ischemia with hypercholesterolemia. Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) knockout (KO) mice were fed a high-f...

To investigate the effects of probucol on macrophage chemotaxis, we preincubated mouse peritoneal macrophages with probucol for 20 hours in vitro and using a modified Boyden chamber system compared their chemotactic responses with those of control macrophages that were preincubated with vehicle. Probucol pretreatment enhanced the macrophage chemotactic responses to zymosan-activated serum, acet...

Probucol is a powerful inhibitor of atherosclerosis in a number of animal models. However, it is unknown whether this is due to the strong antioxidant protection of low density lipoprotein (LDL), to antioxidant effects in the artery wall, or to cellular effects not shared by other antioxidants. To investigate whether murine models are suitable to study the antiatherogenic mechanisms of probucol...

The ability of probucol, a lipid-lowering drug with antioxidant properties, to prevent the Cu2+-induced oxidation of human plasma low density lipoproteins (LDL) was examined as a function of the concentration of probucol in LDL. In the absence of probucol, 3 microM Cu2+ induced half-maximal LDL lipid oxidation, as determined by the formation of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS). O...

-The lipid-lowering antioxidant probucol can inhibit atherosclerosis in animals and restenosis in humans. However, probucol has been shown to promote atherosclerosis in the aortic root of apolipoprotein E-deficient (apoE-/-) mice. In the current study, we examined the effects of probucol on both lesion formation at 4 sites along the aorta and lipoprotein oxidation in the plasma and aortas of ap...

The reaction of probucol with superoxide (O2(*-)) was investigated in acetonitrile using both electron spin resonance (ESR) and electrochemical techniques. The formation of phenoxyl radical was observed during the reaction of probucol with O2(*-) by ESR spectroscopy. The reaction of probucol with O2(*-) in acetonitrile was followed by cyclic voltammetry. With the addition of probucol, the oxida...

Probucol was given to rats made diabetic by streptozotocin. Compared with diabetic rats not receiving probucol or with nondiabetic rats, probucol lowered the plasma concentrations of triglycerides, phospholipids, cholesterol, and apolipoprotein B. The concentrations of serum chylomicrons and very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) were also reduced. In control and diabetic rats, probucol enhanced t...

BACKGROUND Restenosis remains the major limitation of coronary angioplasty. Coronary stents have reduced the incidence of restenosis in selected patients with relatively large vessels. No strategies to date have demonstrated a beneficial effect in vessels < 3.0 mm in diameter. We have shown in the MultiVitamins and Probucol (MVP) Trial that probucol, a potent antioxidant, reduces restenosis aft...