Correlation between progression of atherosclerosis accelerated by emotional stimulation and imbalance of SDF-1/CXCR4 in mice

AIM To observe effects of emotional stimulation on expression of stromal cell-derived factor-1（SDF-1） and CXC chemokine receptor 4 （CXCR4） in plasma， platelets， aortas， hippocampus and bone marrow of apolipoprotein E gene knockout （ApoE^-/-） mice， and to reveal the possible mechanism of the aggravated atherosclerotic plaque vulnerability by emotional stimulation. METHODS Thirty 8-week-old male ApoE^-/- mice were randomly divided into normal control group， high fat group， and emotional stimulation group. Ten 8-week-old inbred C57BL/6J mice served as blank control group. After 12 weeks of intervention， the serum levels of SDF-1 and CXCR4 were investigated by ELISA. The protein levels of SDF-1 and CXCR4 in platelets， aortas， hippocampus and bone marrow were determined by Western blot. The pathological damage of aortas was observed by oil red O staining. RESULTS Compared with blank control group， normal control group and high fat group， the mice subjected to emotional stimulation showed more serious atherosclerosis in aortas detected by oil red O staining， and increased levels of SDF-1 and CXCR4 in the plasma and aortas were also observed （P<0.05）. The results of Western blot showed that the protein levels of SDF-1 and CXCR4 in platelets， aortas and hippocampus were increased in the mice subjected emotional stimulation， but the expression of SDF-1 and CXCR4 in the bone marrow was decreased （P<0.05）. CONCLUSION Imbalance of SDF-1/CXCR4 may be the key target by which emotional stimulation accelerates the progression of atherosclerosis.