Endothelial dysfunction is directly involved in consequence of various metabolic syndromes such as diabetes and hypertension. In this study, we investigated the preventive effects of two ark clams [ark shell (AS, Scapharca subcrenata) and granular ark (GA, Tegillarca granosa)] on endothelial dysfunction induced by a high-fat diet. Wistar rats were divided into four groups as follows: control (normal diet), HF (high-fat diet), AS (high-fat diet + 5% AS powder), and GA (high-fat diet + 5% GA powder) for 12 weeks. AS and GA diets enhanced vascular reactivity of the rat thoracic aorta and significantly increased expression levels of vascular relaxation-related proteins (p-Akt-ser473 and p-eNOS-ser1177). Ark clam supplement reduced endothelin-1 expression level, as compared to the HF group. Additionally, AS and GA showed a trend of improving insulin sensitivity compared to HF. Our results suggest that AS and GA enhance vascular reactivity and ameliorated endothelial dysfunction induced by a high-fat diet.

中文翻译：

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方舟蛤（Scapharca subcrenata和Tegillarca granosa）对高脂饮食引起的内皮功能障碍的改善作用

内皮功能障碍直接导致各种代谢综合征，例如糖尿病和高血压。在这项研究中，我们调查了两种方蛤对高脂饮食诱导的内皮功能障碍的预防作用[方壳（AS，Scapharca subcrenata）和颗粒方舟（GA，Tegillarca granosa）]。Wistar大鼠分为以下四组：对照组（正常饮食），HF（高脂饮食），AS（高脂饮食+ 5％AS粉）和GA（高脂饮食+ 5％GA粉）持续12周。AS和GA饮食可增强大鼠胸主动脉的血管反应性，并显着提高血管松弛相关蛋白（p-Akt-ser473和p-eNOS-ser1177）的表达水平。与HF组相比，方舟蛤补充剂降低了内皮素1的表达水平。另外，与HF相比，AS和GA显示出胰岛素敏感性提高的趋势。我们的结果表明，AS和GA可以增强高脂饮食诱导的血管反应性并改善内皮功能障碍。