Aim: 

Moderate consumption of wine has been associated with a lowering of the risk of coronary heart disease as a consequence of its high content of polyphenols. Dealcoholized white and red wine have been shown to reduce the atherosclerotic lesion possibly related to nitric oxide but the mechanism is not clearly described. So, the aim of our study was to observe other possible mechanisms through which white and red wine act against the atherome plaque formation.

Methods: 

We administered daily dealcoholized white and red wine-rich diets to apoE deficient mice for 12 and 20 weeks. The expression of some cell adhesion molecules and chemokines such as P-selectin, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) involved in the internalization of monocytes across the endothelium were analysed by immunofluorescence and real time-PCR. The involvement of interferon-g (IFN-g), interleukin-1 (IL-1) and nuclear factor kappa B (NFkB) was also studied by real time-PCR.

Results and Conclusion: 

Results indicate that the expression of VCAM-1 and MCP-1 were reduced between 60 and 70% in the group treated with dealcoholized red wine for 12 weeks. IFN-g, IL-1 and NFkB were also decreased in apoE^-/- mice fed dealcoholized red wine for 12 weeks. The reduced expression of NFkB transcription factor which regulates the expression of some cytokines, such as IFN-g, IL-1, is involved in the regulation of the internalization of monocytes and this in part may explain the beneficial effects of red wine polyphenols in atherosclerosis.

Supported by Ministerio de Sanidad y Consumo project FIS PI052629, COST ACTION B35 and PREDIMED Project del "Instituto de Salud Carlos III" RD06/0045/0012.