Red Wine Polyphenols Prevent
Endothelial Damage Induced by CCl4 Administration
P. BABÁL1, V. KRISTOVÁ2, A.
ČERNÁ1, P. JANEGA1, O. PECHÁŇOVÁ3,
Ľ. DANIHEL1, R. ANDRIANTSITOHAINA4
1Departments of Pathology and 2Pharmacology,
Medical Faculty, Comenius University, 3Institute of
Normal and Pathological Physiology, Slovak Academy of Sciences,
Bratislava, Slovakia, and 4Pharmacologie et
Physico-chimie des Interactions Cellulaires et Moleculaires,
Université Louis Pasteur, Faculté de Pharmacie, Illkirch, France
Received May 24, 2005
Accepted August 1, 2005
On-line available August 5, 2005
Summary
It became evident in the present study that carbon tetrachloride
(CCl4), in addition to its known liver and renal
toxicity, causes serious damage to endothelial cells. The
preventive effect of red wine on cardiovascular diseases has
been documented in a number of human population studies as well
as in animal experimental models. In this study, the endothelium
protective effect of polyphenolic compounds isolated from red
wine was studied in rats administered 0.5 ml of CCl4/kg
body weight intraperitoneally twice a week for 8 weeks.
Endothelemia (endothelial cells/10 μl of plasma) was used as the
marker of endothelial cell injury in vivo. Chronic CCl4
treatment for 8 weeks lead to a 3-fold increase of free
endothelial cells circulating in the blood when compared to the
baseline values (2.5±0.3). Parallel oral administration of
polyphenols 40 mg/kg/day significantly decreased the
endothelemia. Polyphenolic compounds alone did not produce
significant changes. Three weeks of spontaneous recovery after
the 8-week treatment with CCl4 did not lead to a
marked decrease of endothelemia, but the administration of red
wine polyphenols during the 3-week period significantly
decreased free endothelial cells in the blood. It can be
concluded that long-term administration of CCl4 may
serve as a useful experimental model of endothelial damage. The
red wine polyphenolic compounds exert a powerful protective
effect on endothelial cells from the injury caused by CCl4.
This effect was documented by decreased endothelemia that
corresponded to diminished endothelial cell swelling and
detachment evaluated by histology of the vascular intima. The
endothelium protective effect may be one of the key factors that
contribute to the preventive action of red wine on
cardiovascular diseases.
Key words
Red wine • Polyphenols • Endothelium damage • Endothelemia • CCl4
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