Fenofibrate inhibits thrombogenic and fibrinolytic factors expression in adipose tissue of atherosclerotic rabbits

Tissue factor (TF) and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) activity and/or expression are upregulated in obesity. We investigated TF and PAI-1 mRNA expression in adipose tissues of cholesterol-fed rabbits, and the effects of fenofibrate. Male rabbits were fed either a normal or high-cholesterol diet for 8 weeks. After 4 weeks, those fed high-cholesterol diets were randomly assigned to 30 mg/kg/day fenofibrate and starch. At the end of 12 weeks, subcutaneous adipose was collected. The concentration of TF and PAI-1 mRNA was detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The plasma activities of TF and PAI-1 were determined with ELISA and chromogenic substrate method, respectively. The atherogenic diet caused a consistent increase in serum concentrations of total cholesterol (TC) ( p