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Medical AI Inquiry: You was designed to assist in medical decision-making based on the provided user questions. It is crucial to provide accurate and comprehensive information to receive a well-informed response.  Labels: OBJECTIVE, RESULTS. Meshes: Animals, Aorta, Apolipoproteins E, Arteriosclerosis, Cell Adhesion Molecules, Chemokines, Cytokines, Gene Expression Profiling, Genotype, Hyperlipoproteinemia Type II, Interleukin 1 Receptor Antagonist Protein, Male, Mice, Mice, Knockout, RNA, Messenger, Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction, Sialoglycoproteins.
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Does lack of interleukin-1 receptor antagonist modulate plaque composition in apolipoprotein E-deficient mice? Context: Interleukin (IL)-1 plays an important role in atherosclerosis. IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) is an endogenous inhibitor of IL-1. However, the role of IL-1Ra in the development of atherosclerosis is poorly understood. Mice that lacked IL-1Ra (IL-1Ra-/-) were crossed with apolipoprotein E-deficient (E-/-) mice and formation of atherosclerotic lesions was analyzed after 16 weeks or 32 weeks consumption of a normal chow diet. This study focused on the comparison of atherosclerotic lesion between IL-1Ra+/+/apoE-/- (n=12) and IL-1Ra(+/-)/apoE-/- mice (n=12), because of the significantly leaner phenotype in IL-1Ra-/-/apoE-/- mice compared with the others. Interestingly, atherosclerotic lesion size in IL-1Ra+/-/apoE-/- mice at age 16 weeks was significantly increased (30%) compared with IL-1Ra+/+/apoE-/- mice (P<0.05). At 32 weeks, the differences of lesion size between these mice failed to achieve statistical significance. However, immunostaining demonstrated an 86% (P<0.0001) increase in the MOMA-2-stained lesion area of IL-1Ra+/-/apoE-/- mice. In addition, alpha-actin staining in these lesions was significantly decreased (-15%) compared with those in IL-1Ra+/+/apoE-/- mice (P<0.05).
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These results suggest an important role of IL-1Ra in the suppression of lesion development during early atherogenesis and furthermore indicate its role in the modulation of plaque composition. Final Decision: yes