Effects of serum containing Tanyu Tongzhi formula on production of NO, caveolin-1 and eNOS in HUVECs injured by ox-LDL / 中国中药杂志

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the protective effect of serum containing Tanyu Tongzhi formula (TYTZF) on ox-LDL-induced human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) injury and detect its mechanism on anti-artherosclerosis.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>HUVECs were pretreated with serum containing TYTZF and simvastatin respectively for 2 hours and then added with 100 mg x L(-1) of ox-LDL and laid aside for 24 hours. The activity of HUVECs were measured by the methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTF) method and the NO content in cell culture supernatants were examined by the Griess method. The mRNA levels of Cav-1 and eNOS were measured by the Real-time PCR method. The protein expression of Cav-1 and eNOS were detected by Western blotting.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>The activity of HUVECs was significantly decreased after ox-LDL treatment (P < 0.01) and this decrease was significantly inhibited by serum containing TYTZF and simvastatin of different doses (P < 0.05). They could enhance the NO content in cell culture supernatants, down-regulate the expression of Cav-1 and up-regulate the expression of eNOS at mRNA and protein levels, which was especially notable after treatment with serum containing TYTZF and simvastatin in large doses.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>TYTZF has the protective effect on HUVECs by increasing the production of NO and up-regulating Cav-1 expression and down-regulating eNOS expression.</p>