PMC

Endothelial dependent relaxation was impaired in the carotid arteries from SLE+HF mice compared to SLE mice (* p<0.002 vs SLE). Carotid artery responses to sodium nitroprusside were not different between SLE+HF and SLE mice.

Left. The increase in body weight over time was not altered in SLE mice fed a high fat diet (SLE+HF) when compared to SLE mice fed a control diet (SLE). Right. The prevalence of albuminuria was increased in SLE mice fed high fat (SLE+HF) compared to SLE mice on a control diet (SLE). Over the course of the experiment 4 out of 7 animals from the SLE+HF group developed albuminuria compared with only 1 out of 5 SLE animals on the control diet.