Objective: To study the effect of berberine(Ber) on plaque area quantification

visfatin and inflammatory cytokines expression in ApoE knockout (ApoE-/-) mice. Method: Fifty male 8-week-old ApoE-/- mice were fed with a high fat diet and randomly assigned into five groups:model group

low-dose Ber(2.5 mg·kg-1·d-1) group

medium-dose Ber(5 mg·kg-1·d-1) group

high-dose Ber(7.5 mg·kg-1·d-1) group and simvastatin (5 mg·kg-1·d-1) group. Ten C57BL/6J mice fed with a common diet were served as control group. Serum lipids and visfatin

plasma interleukin-6(IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) levels were determined after 16 weeks. Atherosclerotic lesions in the aortic root were examined by H&E staining. Visfatin expression in the aorta and distribution in atherosclerotic plaques were identified by Western blotting and by immunohistochemistry. Result: The add weight value

serum visfatin

triglyceride(TG)

total cholesterol(TC) and low densty lipoprotein chdesterol(LDL-C)

plasma IL-6 and TNF-α

visfatin expression in the aorta of model group were statistically increased compared with control group and each treatment group (P<0.05). Atherosclerosis plaque lesions in aorta of simvastatin group

high-dose Ber group and medium-dose Ber group were statistically decreased compared with model group (P<0.05). Conclusion: Ber can inhibit the development of atherosclerosis by reducing serum lipids

atherosclerosis plaque

plasma IL-6 and TNF-α levels in ApoE-/- mice

the mechanism is related to down-regulating visfatin expression.