Effects of dietary fats on senile amyloidosis in SAMP1 mice

Abstract

The SAMP1 mouse (SAMP1@Umz) is an animal model of senile amyloidosis, with apolipoprotein A-II amyloid fibril (AApoA-II) deposits. This study was undertaken to investigate the effects of dietary fats on AApoA-II deposits in SAMP1 mice, when purified diets containing 4% fat as butter, safflower oil or fish oil were fed to male mice for 14 and 26 weeks. Severe AApoA-II deposits were observed in the fish oil group as compared with the butter and safflower oil groups. Serum apolipoprotein A-II levels were significantly lower in the mice on the fish oil diet than those mice fed the butter or safflower oil diets. The mice fed with fish oil had a significantly smaller high density lipoprotein (HDL) particle size than those fed butter or safflower oil. On the other hand, there were dramatic changes in the fatty acid composition of the HDL particles in the mice fed the fish oil diet as compared with the HDLs of mice fed the safflower oil diet. These findings suggest that dietary fats differ in their effects on serum lipoprotein metabolism, and that dietary lipids may modulate amyloid deposition in SAMP1 mice.