Effects of Qi-Benefiting Blood-Activating Chinese herbs on aorta Rho kinase and related cytokine expression in a rat model of atherosclerosis / 中国组织工程研究

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Representative formulae of Qi-Benefiting and Blood-Activating Chinese medicinal herbs Bu Yang Huan Wu Tang (BYHWT) can improve microcirculation and hypoxia, decrease fibrinogen, resist platelet aggregation, reduce blood lipid, dilate blood vessel, resist thrombosis, and reduce neonatal plaque rupture, and has a multi-target, multi-channel anti-atherosclerotic effect. OBJECTIVE: To observe the influence of representative formulae of Qi-Benefiting and Blood-Activating Chinese medicinal herbs BYHWT on aorta Rho kinase, tissue factor, matrix metal oproteinase-2, matrix metal oproteinase-9 mRNA expression in atherosclerosis models, and to explore the action mechanism of BYHWT on anti-atherosclerosis. METHODS: Vitamin D3 and high fat diet induced atherosclerosis in rats. 60 rats were randomly divided into normal control group, model group, 10 g/kg BYHWT therapy group, 20 g/kg BYHWT therapy group, simvastatin control group and BYHWT prevention group (n=10). At 28 days after model establishment, the expression level of Rho kinase, tissue factor, matrix metal oproteinase-2, matrix metal oproteinase-9 mRNA expression and blood lipid level were detected. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1) High fat diet and vitamin D3 could induce atherosclerosis in rats. Atherosclerotic plaque formed in the model group. (2) Rho kinase, tissue factor, matrix metal oproteinase-2, matrix metal oproteinase-9 mRNA expression and blood lipid were significantly lower in the normal control group, 20 g/kg BYHWT therapy group, simvastatin control group and BYHWT prevention group than in the model group (P 0.05). (3) Results indicated that Qi-Benefiting and Blood-Activating BYHWT can resist atherosclerosis, down-regulate the expression of Rho kinase, tissue factor, matrix metal oproteinase-2, and matrix metal oproteinase-9 mRNA expression, which may be one of the mechanisms of anti-atherosclerosis.