Yao En-Hui, Wang Hua-Jun, Xu Chang-Sheng
Department of Cardiology, Union Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Fujian Institute of Coronary Artery Disease, Fuzhou, China.
Fujian Hypertension Research Institute, the First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China.
Indian J Pharmacol. 2014 Sep-Oct;46(5):510-4. doi: 10.4103/0253-7613.140582.
Tongxinluo (TXL) is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). It is used to treat coronary heart disease and atherosclerosis. We investigated the effects of TXL on the neointima formation and expression of inflammatory cytokines in rats after carotid artery balloon injury.
Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups: sham operation group (Sham, n = 15), balloon injury group treated with vehicle (Control, n = 15), TXL low-dose group treated with TXL of 0.5 g/kg/d (TXL-L, n = 15), and TXL high-dose group treated with TXL of 1.0 g/kg/d (TXL-H, n = 15). TXL was given by gavage daily. 14 days after injury', the levels of serum nitric oxide (NO), endothelin-1 (ET-1), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), and soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) were evaluated. The morphology of carotid artery tissue was observed with hematoxylin-eosin staining. Expressions of MCP-1 and ICAM-1 in the artery were detected by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and western blotting.
14 days after injury, a significant increase in concentrations of serum ET-1, MCP-1, and sICAM-1 (P < 0.05), as well as a significant decrease in NO serum level were observed in rats subjected to artery injury compared to the sham rats (P < 0.05). TXL significantly decreased ET-1, MCP-1 and sICAM-1 serum levels (P < 0.05), whereas significantly increased NO serum level compared with the control (P < 0.05). TXL significantly reduced the neointimal thickening at day14 after injury (P < 0.05). In addition, TXL significantly reduced mRNA and protein expressions of ICAM-1 and MCP-1 in injured artery (P < 0.05).
This study demonstrates that TXL is effective in improving endothelial function, attenuating neointimal formation of artery after balloon injury, and reducing expression of inflammatory cytokine MCP-1 and ICAM-1. It may be a useful agent for protecting the artery against injury.
通心络（TXL）是一种中药，用于治疗冠心病和动脉粥样硬化。我们研究了通心络对大鼠颈动脉球囊损伤后新生内膜形成及炎性细胞因子表达的影响。
将雄性Sprague-Dawley大鼠随机分为四组：假手术组（Sham，n = 15）、给予赋形剂的球囊损伤组（Control，n = 15）、给予0.5 g/kg/d通心络的低剂量通心络组（TXL-L，n = 15）和给予1.0 g/kg/d通心络的高剂量通心络组（TXL-H，n = 15）。每天通过灌胃给予通心络。损伤后14天，评估血清一氧化氮（NO）、内皮素-1（ET-1）、单核细胞趋化蛋白-1（MCP-1）和可溶性细胞间黏附分子-1（sICAM-1）的水平。用苏木精-伊红染色观察颈动脉组织形态。通过实时聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）和蛋白质印迹法检测动脉中MCP-1和ICAM-1的表达。
损伤后14天，与假手术大鼠相比，动脉损伤大鼠血清ET-1、MCP-1和sICAM-1浓度显著升高（P < 0.05），血清NO水平显著降低（P < 0.05）。与对照组相比，通心络显著降低了血清ET-1、MCP-1和sICAM-1水平（P < 0.05），而血清NO水平显著升高（P < 0.05）。通心络显著减轻了损伤后14天的新生内膜增厚（P < 0.05）。此外，通心络显著降低了损伤动脉中ICAM-1和MCP-1的mRNA和蛋白表达（P < 0.05）。
本研究表明，通心络可有效改善内皮功能，减轻球囊损伤后动脉的新生内膜形成，并降低炎性细胞因子MCP-1和ICAM-1的表达。它可能是一种保护动脉免受损伤的有用药物。
