RESUMEN
Objective To observe the effects of the intervention of Didang Decoction at different times on changes of AMPK signaling pathway related factors in macrovascular endotheliocytes of diabetic rats; To discuss the mechanism of mitochondria energy metabolism regulating the AMPK signaling pathway for macrovascular endothelial defense function. Methods Injection of STZ into the caudal vein and administration of high fat diet wer used to generate diabetic rat model. All rats were randomly divided into the following 7 groups: control, model, metformin, simvastatin, early-, middle-, and late-stage Didang Decoction group. Western blot was used to detect the expressions of APMKα1 and PGC-1α in rat aortic endothelial cells. Changes in the intracellular AMP and ATP levels were detected by ELISA. Real time fluorescence quantitative PCR was used to detected mRNA expressions of Caspase-3, eNOS, and Bcl-2 in tissue of thoracic aorta. Results Compared with the model group, the expressions of AMPKα1 and PGC-1α in the early-stage and middle-stage Didang Decoction group and simvastatin group increased (P<0.05); the gene expressions of Bcl-2, and eNOS significantly increased in the early-stage Didang Decoction group and simvastatin group (P<0.05), while the expressions of Caspase-3 decreased significantly (P<0.05). The expression of ATP increased significantly and the expression of AMP decreased significantly in the early-stage Didang Decoction group and simvastatin group (P<0.05), and the best effects were shown in the early-stage Didang Decoction group. Conclusion Early intervention of Didang Decoction can enhance energy metabolism in the mitochondria of macrovascular endothelial cells by regulating the AMPK signaling pathway, and then plays a role in strengthening the defense function of macrovascular endothelial cells.