ピオグリタゾン投与による腹部大動脈瘤における抗動脈硬化作用

Accumulating evidence suggests that inflammatory cytokines secreted from visceral fat tissues potentially promote atherosclerosis progression. Recent reports suggested that pioglitazone, which is an anti-diabetes drug, reduces expression of tumor necrosis factor（TNF）‐α and ameliorates insulin-resistance in diabetic mice. Pioglitazone was also reported to suppress progression of coronary atherosclerosis. The objective of this study is to assess the effect of pioglitazone on inflammatory changes in abdominal aortic aneurysms（AAAs）. This study protocol was approved by the medical ethics committee in Tokushima University Hospital. Patients with AAA were randomized into two groups. One was with pioglitazone（Group P）. The other was without pioglitazone（Group C）. Biopsy specimens were obtained from the abdominal subcutaneous fat, the greater omentum, the retroperitoneal periaortic fat and the aneurysmal wall. Immunohistochemistry of CD ６８in those specimens was performed. The number of macrophages in Group P was lower than that in Group C. Expressions of inflammatory cytokines in those specimens were evaluated by real-time quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis. Expression of inflammatory cytokines in Group P were reduced, when compaird with those in Group C.
Our data may suggest that pioglitazone reduce inflammatory changes in human aortic aneurysm.