Differential effects of Mediterranean vs. Western diets on coronary atherosclerosis and peripheral artery transcriptomics

作者：Aya Abu-sheikha, Corbin S.C. Johnson, Noah Snyder‐Mackler, Kip D. Zimmerman, Jacob D. Negrey, Kenneth L. Chiou, Brett M. Frye, Timothy D. Howard, Carol A. Shively, Thomas C. Register · 发表于：Frontiers in Nutrition · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.3389/fnut.2025.1564741 · 被引用次数：4 · 研究领域：Nutritional Studies and Diet、Diet and metabolism studies、Fatty Acid Research and Health

Western diets and social subordination are associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease. In this study, we investigated the impact of Western versus Mediterranean diets and social status on atherogenesis and arterial transcriptional profiles in a 30-month randomized study in middle-aged, cynomolgus monkeys ( Macaca fascicularis ). Atherosclerosis (intimal area) in the left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery was higher in the Western diet group compared to the Mediterranean diet group ( F = 5.25, p = 0.03). There was no effect of diet on intimal lesion size in the iliac and carotid arteries ( p > 0.05). Diet altered the transcriptome in iliac arteries; at an FDR threshold of 0.05, seven transcripts were upregulated ( WDR62, PKDCC, SLC29A2, MARS1, RAD21L1, MAMDC4 , and ENSMFAG00000052859), and 13 transcripts were downregulated ( PIK3R1, PABPC1, PAQR8, ZNF667, FGGY, EIF4B, ALDH3A2, ANP32A, KDM3B, XPO7, RPS20 , TOMM20 , and CHCHD7 ) in the Western compared to the Mediterranean diet cohort. These genes are associated with endothelial dysfunction, smooth muscle proliferation and migration, angiogenesis, and abnormal extracellular matrix (ECM) dynamics. In addition, two transcripts (ENSMFAG00000064154 [LncRNA] and ENSMFAG00000057515 [small nucleolar RNA U13]) were downregulated in subordinate monkeys relative to their dominant counterparts (FDR < 0.05). There was no effect of diet on the carotid artery transcriptome, but we did identify significant s...