Dietary cholesterol protects against alcohol-induced cerebral artery constriction.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Binge drinking represents the major form of excessive alcohol (ethanol [EtOH]) consumption in the United States. Episodic (such as binge) drinking results in blood alcohol levels (BAL) of 18 to 80 mM and leads to alcohol-induced cerebral artery constriction (AICAC). AICAC was shown to arise from EtOH-induced inhibition of large-conductance, calcium/voltage-gated potassium (BK) channels in the vascular smooth muscle. Factors that modulate BK channel-mediated AICAC remain largely unknown.

Methods

Male Sprague Dawley rats were placed on high-cholesterol (2% of cholesterol) diet for 18 to 23 weeks. Their littermates were placed on control iso-caloric diet. AICAC was evaluated both in vivo and in vitro, by means of pial arteriole diameter monitoring through a closed cr

SUBMITTER: Bukiya A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4010119 | biostudies-literature | 2014 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature