Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27907038›Full record

ArticlePloS one2016

Equol Attenuates Atherosclerosis in Apolipoprotein E-Deficient Mice by Inhibiting Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress via Activation of Nrf2 in Endothelial Cells.

Ting Zhang, Qin Hu, Linying Shi, Li Qin, Qianyong Zhang, Mantian Mi

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
26citing papers in PubMed
2.5field-weighted citation impact, top 12% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

26 citing papers in PubMed, 43 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Distinct types of regulated cell death in atherosclerosis.Journal of pharmaceutical analysis · 2026
    Review
  2. Review
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  5. Acta biochimica et biophysica Sinica · 2024
    Article
  6. Article
  7. Flavonoids, gut microbiota, and host lipid metabolism.Engineering in life sciences · 2024
    Review
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Research Progress of Flavonoids Regulating Endothelial Function.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023
    Review
  11. Review
  12. Review
  13. Article
  14. Review
  15. Review
  16. Review
  17. Review
  18. Review
  19. Review
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Ting ZhangResearch Center of Nutrition and Food Safety, Institute of Military Preventive Medicine, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Nutrition and Food Safety, Chongqing, P. R.China.
Qin HuResearch Center of Nutrition and Food Safety, Institute of Military Preventive Medicine, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Nutrition and Food Safety, Chongqing, P. R.China.
Linying ShiResearch Center of Nutrition and Food Safety, Institute of Military Preventive Medicine, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Nutrition and Food Safety, Chongqing, P. R.China.
Li QinResearch Center of Nutrition and Food Safety, Institute of Military Preventive Medicine, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Nutrition and Food Safety, Chongqing, P. R.China.
Qianyong ZhangResearch Center of Nutrition and Food Safety, Institute of Military Preventive Medicine, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Nutrition and Food Safety, Chongqing, P. R.China.
Mantian MiResearch Center of Nutrition and Food Safety, Institute of Military Preventive Medicine, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Nutrition and Food Safety, Chongqing, P. R.China.
Army Medical University · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The development of atherosclerosis is closely related to excessive endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERs). Equol reportedly protects against cardiovascular disease; however, the underlying mechanism for this protection remains unknown. Herein, the mechanisms contributing to the atheroprotective effect of equol were addressed using apolipoprotein E knockout (apoE-/-) mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD) with or without equol. Equol intervention reduced atherosclerotic lesions in the aorta in HFD-fed apoE-/- mice. Plasma lipid analysis showed that equol intervention reduced triglycerides, total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol and increased HDL-cholesterol. Additionally, equol administration decreased lipid accumulation in the liver. Simultaneously, equol treatment inhibited cell apoptosis induced by t-BHP and thapsigargin in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Furthermore, equol treatment attenuated palmitate, t-BHP or thapsigargin-induced upregulation of ER stress markers, including p-PERK, p-eIF2α, GRP78, ATF6 and CHOP proteins expression. The same tendency was also observed in aortic lysates in apoE-/- mice fed with equol plus HFD compared with HFD alone. Moreover, equol treatment dose dependently activated the Nrf2 signaling pathway under oxidative stress. Additionally, elevation of Nrf2 induction was found in aortic lysates in apoE-/- mice fed with a HFD diet containing equol compared with a HFD diet without equol. Importantly, Nrf2 siRNA interference induced CHOP and attenuated the effect of equol to inhibit t-BHP mediated CHOP induction, furthermore, abrogated cell apoptosis induced by t-BHP, suggesting a role for Nrf2 in the protective effect of equol in HUVECs. Collectively, these findings implicate that the improvement of atherosclerosis by equol through attenuation of ER stress is mediated, at least in part, by activating the Nrf2 signaling pathway.

Indexed as

Activating Transcription Factor 6AnimalsAortaApolipoproteins EApoptosisAtherosclerosisCholesterol, HDLCholesterol, LDLDiet, High-FatDisease Models, AnimaleIF-2 KinaseEndoplasmic Reticulum Chaperone BiPEndoplasmic Reticulum StressEquolEukaryotic Initiation Factor-2Gene Expression RegulationActivating Transcription Factor 6Apolipoproteins EAtf6 protein, mouseCholesterol, HDLCholesterol, LDLDdit3 protein, mouseeIF-2 KinaseEndoplasmic Reticulum Chaperone BiPEquolEukaryotic Initiation Factor-2Heat-Shock ProteinsHSPA5 protein, humanHspa5 protein, mouseNfe2l2 protein, mouseNF-E2-Related Factor 2Palmitic AcidPhytoestrogensThapsigarginTranscription Factor CHOPTriglycerides

Identifiers

PMID27907038
PMCPMC5132403
OpenAlexW2558084729

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.