Effects of Andrographitis Paniculata extracts on the expression of CD40 in endothelial cells

In order to investigate the expression of CD40 in endothelial cells (ECs) in a variety of injured conditions and the interventional role of Andrographitis Paniculata isolate (API(0134)), the thoracic aorta ECs of guinea pigs were cultured in vitro until the third passage, incubated in the presence of media containing xanthine oxidase (XO) and xanthine (Xan) which produced oxygen free radical (OFR group); oxidized-LDL (ox-LDL group); XO, Xan and API(0134) (OFR+API(0134) group); or ox-LDL and API(0134) (ox-LDL+API(0134) group). The expression of CD40 in ECs was detected by immunofluorescence assay and reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR). The results showed as compared with the control group, the expression of CD40 in ECs in OFR group and ox-LDL group was increased (P<0.01), but attenuated significantly in OFR+ API(0134) group and ox-LDL+API(0134) group (P<0.05). It was suggested that API(0134) could protect atherosclerosis by inhibiting the expression of CD40 molecule in injured ECs.