The Mediterranean Diet, characterized by higher intakes of plant foods including plant proteins, monounsaturated fat, fish, and lower consumption of animal products and saturated fat, has long been associated with reduced cardiovascular risk, but the molecular mechanisms underlying these associations have not been fully elucidated. We conducted a pilot study to evaluate associations of an Alternate Mediterranean Diet Score, reflective of adherence to this diet pattern and adapted for US populations, and its components, with markers of endothelial inflammation directly measured in endothelial cells harvested from a diverse sample of women (n = 25, mean ± SD age 33 ± 10.5y, 68% racial/ethnic minorities). Cardiovascular risk markers including nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB)-a marker of inflammation, as well as oxidative stress and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) gene expression-markers of endothelial function, were evaluated in harvested endothelial cells. We hypothesized that the Mediterranean diet pattern would be associated with lower inflammation and oxidative stress and higher eNOS expression in endothelial cells. Results showed that lower oxidative stress was associated with higher plant-based protein (Exp(β) = 0.96; P = .007), overall protein (Exp(β) = 0.99; P = .007), and red and processed meat intake (Exp(β) = 0.93; P = .012). Lower NF-κB was associated with higher legume (Exp(β) = 0.79; P = .045) intake, and higher eNOS was associated with higher red and processed meat intake (Exp(β) = 1.13; P = .005). Our findings suggest potential novel mechanisms through which certain Mediterranean dietary components may influence pre-clinical vascular alterations that may be associated with cardiovascular risk through lower endothelial oxidative stress, lower inflammation, and greater endothelial functioning. These findings warrant confirmation, prospectively in a larger sample.

中文翻译：

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在一项针对不同种族女性的初步研究中，地中海饮食成分与增强内皮功能和降低炎症有关

地中海饮食的特点是摄入更多的植物性食物，包括植物蛋白、单不饱和脂肪、鱼，以及摄入更少的动物产品和饱和脂肪，长期以来一直与降低心血管风险有关，但这些关联背后的分子机制尚未完全阐明阐明。我们进行了一项初步研究，以评估替代地中海饮食评分的关联，反映对这种饮食模式的依从性并适应美国人群及其组成部分，并直接在从不同女性样本中采集的内皮细胞中测量内皮炎症标志物（ n = 25，平均值 ± SD 年龄 33 ± 10.5 岁，68% 的种族/少数民族）。心血管风险标志物，包括核因子 kappa B (NF-κB) - 一种炎症标志物，以及氧化应激和内皮一氧化氮合酶 (eNOS) 基因表达标记的内皮功能，在收获的内皮细胞中进行了评估。我们假设地中海饮食模式与较低的炎症和氧化应激以及较高的内皮细胞 eNOS 表达有关。结果表明，较低的氧化应激与较高的植物性蛋白质（Exp(β) = 0.96；P = .007）、总蛋白质（Exp(β) = 0.99；P = .007）以及红肉和加工肉类摄入量相关(Exp(β) = 0.93；P = .012)。较低的 NF-κB 与较高的豆类（Exp(β) = 0.79；P = .045）摄入量相关，较高的 eNOS 与较高的红肉和加工肉类摄入量相关（Exp(β) = 1.13；P = .005）。我们的研究结果表明，某些地中海饮食成分可能通过潜在的新机制影响临床前血管改变，这些改变可能通过降低内皮氧化应激、降低炎症和增强内皮功能而与心血管风险相关。这些发现值得在更大的样本中前瞻性地确认。