Transcriptomic Analysis Identifies Dysregulated Aortic Ceramide Metabolism in a Miniature Pig Model of Atherosclerosis

Dysregulation of lipid metabolism is the pathological basis of the occurrence and development of atherosclerosis.The pig is an ideal animal to study human cardiovascular diseases. However, the specific changes of lipid metabolism in its atherosclerotic plaques, as well as the underlying mechanisms, remain to be elucidated. To investigate the alterations of lipid metabolism related pathways, especially ceramide synthesis related genes, in the abdominal aorta of atherosclerotic pigs induced by high-fat, high-cholesterol, and high-fructose (HFCF) diet, we performed RNA-Seq on abdominal aorta tissue from Wuzhishan pigs fed either normal chow diet or HFCF diet for six months. Aorta mRNA profiles of Wuzhishan pigs fed either normal chow diet or high fat, high cholesterol and high fructose diet were generated by deep sequencing, in triplicate, using Illumina NovaSeq.