Disordered lipid metabolism and elevated blood lipids in animals readily trigger vascular endothelial injury, thereby inducing endothelial dysfunction and increased vascular permeability. These pathological changes ultimately lead to lipid infiltration in the vascular wall and the development of atherosclerosis. Therefore, feeding experimental animals with a high-fat and high-cholesterol diet can induce hyperlipidemia and gradually promote the formation of atherosclerotic plaques in the aorta and coronary arteries. Supplementing a small amount of cholate into the high-fat and high-cholesterol diet enhances cholesterol absorption. The addition of thyroid-suppressive agents, such as methylthiouracil and propylthiouracil, can further accelerate the progression of arterial lesions.

Japanese big-ear rabbits (mixed gender, body weight 2.0–2.5 kg)
Modeling method: The atherosclerosis model was successfully established by feeding with high-fat and high-cholesterol diet for 12 consecutive weeks.
Evaluation indexes: Oil Red O staining and HE staining.

Aortic Oil Red O staining

Aortic HE staining