Liraglutide treatment improves endothelial function in the Ldlr-/- mouse model of atherosclerosis and affects genes involved in vascular remodelling and inflammation.

Recent clinical intervention studies have shown that the GLP1 analogue liraglutide lowers cardiovascular risk, but the underlying mechanism has not yet been fully elucidated. This study investigated the effects of liraglutide on endothelial function in the Ldlr-/- mouse model. Mice (n = 12/group) were fed Western diet (WD) or chow for 12 weeks followed by 4 weeks of treatment with liraglutide (1 mg/kg/day) or vehicle subcutaneously. Weight loss, blood lipid content, plaque burden, vasomotor function of the aorta and gene expression pattern in aorta and brachiocephalic artery were monitored. Liraglutide treatment significantly induced weight loss (P < .0001), decreased blood triglycerides (P < .0001) and total cholesterol (P < .0001) in WD-fed mice but did not decrease plaque burden. Liraglutide also improved endothelium-mediated dilation of the distal thoracis aorta (P = .0067), but it did not affect phenylephrine or sodium nitroprusside responses. Fluidigm analyses of 96 genes showed significantly altered expression of seven genes related to inflammation, vascular smooth muscle cells and extracellular matrix composition in liraglutide-treated animals. We conclude that treatment with liraglutide decreased endothelial dysfunction and that this could be linked to decreased inflammation or regulation of vascular remodelling.