Effect of germanium-132 on low-density lipoprotein oxidation and atherosclerosis in Kurosawa and Kusanagi hypercholesterolemic rabbits

Germanium-132 (Ge-132) was given at 200 mg/kg of body weight to 8-week-old Kurosawa and Kusanagi hypercholesterolemic (KHC) rabbits. Thirty-six weeks later, the susceptibility of plasma low-density lipoprotein to oxidation and the morphology of atherosclerosis in the aorta and coronary artery were investigated. Treatment with Ge-132 resulted in decreases in the oxidation rate and in the formation rate of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances following copper-induced oxidation of LDL. Ge-132 is suggested to possess antioxidative properties, but this did not lead to any attenuation of atherosclerotic progression in the KHC rabbits.