Emergency Department of Taichung Veterans General Hospital, China Medical University, Taiwan.
Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2011;2011:485471. doi: 10.1093/ecam/neq066. Epub 2011 Mar 10.
Hypercholesterolemia diets are considered as major sources to cause cardiac hypertrophy. This study intends to evaluate the effects of Li-Fu formula on cardiac hypertrophy induced by hypercholesterolemia diet. Twenty-four male Golden Syrian hamsters were randomly divided into control, cholesterol and Li-Fu formula groups and fed with different experimental diets for 2 months. Histopathological analysis and western blotting were performed to measure the myocardial architecture, and various cardiac hypertrophy-associated molecules in the excised left ventricle from hamsters. The ratios of whole heart weight/body weight (BW) and left ventricle weight/BW were significantly higher in the cholesterol group but significantly lower in the Li-Fu formula group. The protein levels of both atrial natriuretic peptide and brain natriuretic peptide were significantly increased in the cholesterol group but significantly reduced in the Li-Fu formula group. Additionally, significantly increased interleukin-6, STAT3, MEK5, p-ERK5 and non-cardiomyocyte proliferate signal molecules such as p-MEK and p-ERK, were detected in the cholesterol group but significantly reduced in the Li-Fu formula group. Notably, no significant variations of inflammatory signaling molecules, including p-P38 and p-JNK, were detected in all groups. Our experimental results demonstrated the significant reductions of cardiac hypertrophy and related eccentric hypertrophy signaling, non-cardiomyocyte proliferate signaling in the excised left ventricle of hamsters from the Li-Fu formula. We suggested the protective effects of Li-Fu formula on cardiac hypertrophy that may be useful in prevention or treatment of hypertrophy-associated cardiovascular diseases.
高胆固醇血症饮食被认为是导致心肌肥厚的主要原因。本研究旨在评估利福方对高胆固醇血症饮食诱导的心肌肥厚的影响。24 只雄性金黄叙利亚仓鼠随机分为对照组、胆固醇组和利福方组，分别给予不同的实验饮食喂养 2 个月。对取自仓鼠的左心室进行组织病理学分析和 Western blot 检测，以评估心肌结构和各种与心肌肥厚相关的分子。胆固醇组的心脏重量/体重（BW）和左心室重量/BW 比值明显高于对照组，而利福方组则明显降低。胆固醇组心房利钠肽和脑利钠肽的蛋白水平明显升高，而利福方组则明显降低。此外，胆固醇组中白细胞介素-6、STAT3、MEK5、p-ERK5 和非心肌细胞增殖信号分子如 p-MEK 和 p-ERK 明显增加，而利福方组则明显减少。值得注意的是，所有组的炎症信号分子如 p-P38 和 p-JNK 均无明显变化。我们的实验结果表明，利福方可显著减少心肌肥厚和相关的离心性肥厚信号、非心肌细胞增殖信号，从而减轻左心室肥厚。我们推测利福方对心肌肥厚具有保护作用，可能有助于预防或治疗与肥厚相关的心血管疾病。
