Silicic acid in drinking water prevents age-related alterations in the endothelium-dependent vascular relaxation modulating eNOS and AQP1 expression in experimental mice: An immunohistochemical study

The maintenance of endothelial integrity is of great importance in coping with age-related vascular alterations. Endothelium-derived nitric oxide is one of the various vasoactive substances able to regulate vascular tone and homeostasis, and whose decrease is known to be related with senescence in endothelial cells. There are reports on the efficacy of silicon, especially as silicic acid, in protecting vascular integrity during age-related vascular diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of supplementation of silicic acid in drinking water in the maintenance of vascular health in a mouse model of early physiological aging. In particular, we evaluated the relationship between Si supplementation and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) expression, taking into account also the aquaporin-1 (AQP-1) isoform that, as recently reported, seems to be involved in nitric oxide transport across cell membranes. Our results showed that silicic acid supplementation increased both eNOS and AQP-1 expression, suggesting that silicic acid modulation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase and aquaporin-1 could represent a potential strategy against age-related vascular senescence.