Perivascular adipose tissue from female rats fed a high-fat diet impaired mesenteric artery vasodilation.

ABSTRACT: High-fat diet (HFD) is a cardiovascular risk factor that may disproportionately affect women compared to men. HFD alters perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT), which surrounds arteries and regulates vascular function. This study investigated the sex-specific effects of HFD on PVAT-mediated vascular dysfunction. Male and female Sprague-Dawley rats were fed a normal chow diet (NCD) or HFD for 16 weeks. Thoracic aortic PVAT was isolated, and PVAT adipokine expression and inflammatory markers were measured. We then assessed PVAT-conditioned media effects on vasodilation, endothelial oxidative stress, and endothelial nitric oxide (NO) synthase. PVAT-conditioned media from HFD female but not male rats impaired acetylcholine-induced vasodilation in mesenteric arteries; however, it did not increase o

SUBMITTER: Sangha GS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12849210 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature