Effects of a high-fat, high-carbohydrate diet on blood cells of rats

Aim. To study the effects of a high-fat, high-carbohydrate diet on erythrocytes and platelets of rats.
Materials and methods. Male Wistar rats (n = 23) were used for the study. The rats were divided into a control group and an experimental group. The rats from the control group were fed with standard rat chow. The rats from the experimental group had received a high-fat and high-carbohydrate diet for 12 weeks. In the rats, body weight and blood pressure (BP) were measured, an oral glucose tolerance test was carried out, and hematological and lipid metabolism parameters were analyzed. The conductance of erythrocyte KCa-channels was measured by the potentiometric method, and platelet aggregation was determined by the turbidimetric method.
Results. Feeding the rats with a high-fat, high-carbohydrate diet for 12 weeks resulted in obesity, BP elevation, hyperglycemia, impaired glucose tolerance, and dyslipidemia with pronounced triglyceridemia. In the experimental group, a rise in the number of leukocytes, mainly due to granulocytes, and an increase in the number of platelets and their collagen-induced aggregation were observed. The red blood cell count in the rats of the experimental group did not significantly differ from that of the control group. In the experimental group, multidirectional changes in the membrane potential were observed in response to the stimulation of the KCa-channels in the erythrocyte membrane with the Ca2+ ionophore A23187 or artificial redox systems.
Conclusion. The obtained data indicate that a high-fat, high-carbohydrate diet leads to metabolic and hemorheological disorders that are typical of metabolic syndrome.

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