Bananas and Persea Americana — intellectual nourishment that are rich in potassium — may help protect against infective vascular calcification , also experience as solidifying of the arteries .
University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers have shown , for the first meter , that lose weight dietetic potassium promotes elevated aortic rigorousness in a computer mouse modelling , as compared with normal - potassium - fed mice . Such arterial stiffness in humans is predictive of heart disease and death from heart disease , and it represents an important health problem for the body politic as a whole .
The UAB investigator also found that increased dietetical K story lessened vascular calcification and aortic stiffness . Furthermore , they ravel out the molecular mechanism underlying the effects of low or high dietary atomic number 19 .
Such cognition of how vascular smooth muscle cells in the arteries regulate vascular calcification emphasizes the want to think dietetical consumption of potassium in the prevention of vascular complications of coronary artery disease . It also provides new target for likely therapy to prevent or handle atherosclerotic vascular calcification and arterial stiffness .
A UAB squad lead by Yabing Chen , PhD , UAB prof of pathology and a Research Career Scientist at the Birmingham VA Medical Center , explored this mechanism of vascular disease three style : living mice feed diet that wide-ranging in atomic number 19 , mouse artery cross - section studied in acculturation medium with depart concentrations of K , and sneak vascular smooth muscle cell grow in finish culture medium .
Working from living mouse down to molecular event in cells in culture , the UAB researchers fix a causative link between reduced dietetical K and vascular calcification in atherosclerosis , as well as uncovered the underlying pathogenic mechanism .
The animal work was behave out in the atherosclerosis - prone mouse example , the apoliprotein E - deficient black eye , a standard model that are prone to cardiovascular disease when fed a high - avoirdupois diet . Using low , normal or high levels of dietary potassium — 0.3 percent , 0.7 percent and 2.1 pct free weight / weight , severally , the UAB team ascertain that the mice feed a low - K dieting had a significant increase in vascular calcification . In contrast , the shiner fed a eminent - potassium diet had markedly suppress vascular calcification . Also , the low - K mice had increased severeness of their aorta , and eminent - potassium black eye had decreased stiffness , as indicated by the arterial stiffness indicator called pulsation undulation velocity , which is measured by echocardiography in live animate being .
The different levels of dietary potassium were mirrored by different rip levels of potassium in the three groups of mice .
When researchers looked at arterial mark - sections in cultures that were exposed to three unlike concentration of potassium , based on normal physiological tier of K in the blood , they found a direct effect for the K on arterial calcification within arterial rings . Arterial rings in low - potassium had markedly enhanced calcification , while high - potassium inhibited aortic calcification .
“ The findings have authoritative translational potential drop , ” said Paul Sanders , M.D. , professor of nephrology in the UAB Department of Medicine and a carbon monoxide - generator , “ since they evidence the welfare of adequate potassium supplementation on bar of vascular calcification in coronary artery disease - prone mouse , and the adverse impression of low K intake . ”
How it cultivate
In cubicle civilisation , miserable atomic number 19 stage in the culture media markedly enhanced calcification of vascular smooth sinew cellular telephone . Previous research by several laboratory including Chen ’s chemical group has show that calcification of vascular smooth muscle cells resembles the differentiation of bone cells , which leads to the transmutation of legato brawniness cells into bone - like cellular telephone .
So the UAB researchers tested the effect of raise vascular smooth brawniness cubicle in blue - potassium cell culture . They found that the modest - atomic number 19 conditions promote the facial expression of several cistron markers that are hallmarks of ivory cell , but decreased the formula of vascular smooth muscularity cell markers , evoke the transformation of the vascular suave muscle cellular phone into pearl - like cells under humble - potassium precondition .
Mechanistically , they found that humble - atomic number 19 upgrade intracellular calcium in the vascular smooth sinew cells , via a potassium tape transport channel cry the inward rectifier K channel . This was accompanied by activation of several have it away downstream mediators , including protein kinase C and the calcium - activated cAMP response element - binding protein , or CREB .
In turn , CREB activation increase autophagy — the intracellular debasement scheme — in the low - potassium mobile phone . Using autophagy inhibitors , the researcher show that blocking autophagy obstruct calcification . Thus , autophagy playact an important role in liaise calcification of vascular smooth muscle cells bring on by the depleted - potassium condition .
The role of the CREB energizing and autophagy signals were then tested in the shiner artery hybridisation - section and sustenance - computer mouse models , with humiliated , normal or in high spirits levels of potassium in the media or dieting . resultant role in both of those systems digest the vital role for potassium to mold vascular calcification through calcium indicate , CREB and autophagy .
Besides Chen and Sanders , carbon monoxide - generator of the paper , “ Dietary K regulates vascular calcification and arterial stiffness , ” published in JCI Insight , are Yong Sun , Chang Hyun Byon and Youfeng Yang , UAB Department of Pathology ; Wayne E. Bradley , Louis J. Dell’Italia and Anupam Agarwal , UAB Department of Medicine ; and Hui Wu , UAB Department of Pediatric Dentistry . Sanders , Agarwal and Chen are also members of the Research Department , Veterans Affairs Birmingham Medical Center .
Potassium Rich Foods Fight Stroke Risk
Postmenopausal women who eat intellectual nourishment high in K are less potential to have stroke and die than woman who exhaust less potassium - rich intellectual nourishment , according to a separate 2014 study published in the American Heart Association ’s diary Stroke .
“ Other studies have register that K consumption may take down blood pressure . But whether atomic number 19 intake could foreclose stroke or death was n’t exculpated , ” said Sylvia Wassertheil - Smoller , Ph . D ..
“ Our findings give women another reason to eat their fruits and veggie . Fruits and vegetables are good seed of atomic number 19 , and atomic number 19 not only lowers postmenopausal women ’s risk of chance event , but also death . ”
Researchers studied 90,137 postmenopausal woman , age 50 to 79 , for an medium 11 years . They looked at how much potassium the women consumed , as well as if they had stroke , include ischaemic and hemorrhagic chance event , or died during the study geological period . Women in the bailiwick were stroke - free at the start and their average dietary K intake was 2,611 mg / solar day . Results of this cogitation are base on K from food , not supplements .
The researchers determine :
researcher suggested that high dietetic K intake may be more beneficial before high lineage pressure sensation develops . They also said there was no evidence of any tie between atomic number 19 intake and haemorrhagic slash , which could be related to the low-pitched figure of hemorrhagic strokes in the study .
The U.S. Department of Agriculture urge that women eat at least 4,700 mg of atomic number 19 daily . “ Only 2.8 percent of woman in our report met or outstrip this level . The World Health Organization ’s daily atomic number 19 recommendation for women is lower , at 3,510 milligram or more . Still , only 16.6 percentage of woman we canvas adjoin or exceeded that , ” sound out Wassertheil - Smoller .
“ Our finding suggest that adult female need to eat more atomic number 19 - rich nutrient . You wo n’t regain high potassium in dust food . Some foods mellow in potassium admit white-hot and sweet potatoes , bananas and white beans . ”
While increasing K intake is probably a beneficial idea for most older woman , there are some multitude who have too much potassium in their blood , which can be grave to the heart . “ People should check with their Doctor of the Church about how much atomic number 19 they should eat , ” she say .
The study was observational and include only postmenopausal women . research worker also did not take Na uptake into consideration , so the possible grandness of a balance between sodium and K is not among the findings .
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