Correlation between cardiovascular risk factors and the expression of cardiovascular disease related genes in cynomolgus monkeys

The correlation between cardiovascular risk factors and cardiovascular disease related genes plays an important role in early-warning risk and early diagnosis. Thirty middle-aged male crab-eating macaques were fed a moderately atherogenic diet (0.053 mg cholesterol/kJ and 40% of calories as saturated fat) for twelve months. According to cardiovascular risk factors, we selected low-risk and high-risk crab-eating macaques, then analyzed the expression of 113 cardiovascular related genes by real-time PCR. A total of 65 genes were detected in peripheral blood leukocytes by real-time PCR. Sixteen up-regulated genes and nineteen down-regulated genes were detected in low-risk and high-risk crab-eating macaques compared to normal crab-eating macaques (P<0.05), in addition to fifteen genes that showed unique expression patterns (P<0.05). We also detected 42 genes in human peripheral blood leukocytes. The expression patterns of 22 genes were consistent between human and crab-eating macaques. These results narrowed the scope of genes for further research.