Docosahexaenoic Acid Inhibits Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Proliferation Induced by Glucose Variability

Vascular Smooth Muscle cells (VSMC) enact crucial roles in early vasculogenesis and sustenance of vascular integrity. However, aberrant proliferation of VSMC followed by migration into the blood vessel wall leads to the formation of vascular lesions accounting for the degeneration and remodelling of vascular basement membrane. In diabetes, hyperglycaemia accelerates VSMC proliferation and contributes to the initiation and progression of atherosclerotic lesions. Recently, acute glucose fluctuations have been implicated in the abnormal VSMC proliferation and complications of diabetic atherosclerosis. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), a ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) has been shown to inhibit proliferation of several cell types implicating several different mechanisms. In the present study, we have investigated the effects of DHA on VSMC proliferation induced by stable and intermittent high glucose levels