The efficacy of
antioxidant supplementation in the prevention of
cardiovascular disease appears equivocal, however the use of more potent
antioxidant combinations than those traditionally used may exert a more positive effect. We have shown previously that supplementation of
vitamin E and α-
lipoic acid increases cardiac performance during post-
ischemia reperfusion in older rats and increases Bcl-2 levels in endothelial cells. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of
vitamin E and α-
lipoic acid supplementation on myocardial gene expression with a view to determine their mechanism of action. Young male rats received either a control (n=7) or
vitamin E and α-
lipoic acid supplemented diet (n=8) for 14 weeks.
RNA from myocardial tissue was then amplified and samples were pooled within groups and competitively hybridized to 8.5K
oligonucleotide rat microarrays. The relative expression of each gene was then compared to the control sample. Animals that received the
antioxidant-supplemented diet exhibited upregulation (>1.5×) of 13 genes in the myocardium with 2 genes downregulated. Upregulated genes include those involved in cell growth and maintenance (LynB, Csf1r, Akt2, Tp53), cell signaling (LynB, Csf1r) and signal transduction (Pacsin2, Csf1r). Downregulated genes encode thyroid (Thrsp) and
F-actin binding proteins (Nexilin).