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Updated: Aug 9, 2025
Quantification of Atherosclerosis in Mice
Published on: June 12, 2019
A multi-target protective effect of Danggui-Shaoyao-San on the vascular endothelium of atherosclerotic mice
Yuemeng Sun1, Yushan Gao1, Lu Zhou1
1School of Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100029, China.
Insights
Danggui-Shaoyao-San (DGSY) effectively treats atherosclerosis by improving lipid profiles and reducing inflammation. This traditional Chinese medicine alleviates vascular damage and delays disease progression through multi-target protective mechanisms.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Research
- Pharmacology
- Traditional Chinese Medicine
Background:
- Atherosclerosis (AS) involves abnormal lipid metabolism, inflammation, and endothelial injury, with endothelial damage being an early stage.
- The anti-atherosclerotic mechanisms of Danggui-Shaoyao-San (DGSY), a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), are not fully understood.
- DGSY is increasingly utilized for AS treatment despite its traditional use in gynecological conditions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the therapeutic effects and underlying mechanisms of Danggui-Shaoyao-San (DGSY) on atherosclerosis.
- To evaluate DGSY's impact on vascular endothelial damage and lipid metabolism in an atherosclerosis mouse model.
Main Methods:
- ApoE knockout mice fed a high-fat diet were used to establish an atherosclerosis model.
- Mice were treated with DGSY or Atorvastatin calcium for 16 weeks.
- Aortic pathology, blood lipids, inflammatory markers (IL-6, IL-8), endothelial adhesion molecules (ICAM-1, VCAM-1), and the interα5β1/c-Abl/YAP pathway were analyzed.
Main Results:
- DGSY significantly improved lipid profiles by reducing TC, TG, and LDL-C, and increasing HDL-C.
- DGSY treatment reduced aortic plaque area and inhibited IL-6 and IL-8 levels.
- DGSY downregulated the expression of ICAM-1, VCAM-1, and the interα5β1/c-Abl/YAP pathway in aortic vessels.
Conclusions:
- Danggui-Shaoyao-San (DGSY) alleviates vascular endothelial damage and delays atherosclerosis development.
- The protective effects of DGSY against AS are attributed to its multi-target actions.
- DGSY demonstrates potential as a therapeutic agent for atherosclerosis.
Background:
Atherosclerosis (AS) is a chronic disease characterized by abnormal blood lipid metabolism, inflammation and vascular endothelial injury. Vascular endothelial injury is the initial stage during the occurrence of AS. However, the function and mechanism of anti-AS are not well characterized. Danggui-Shaoyao-San (DGSY) is a classic Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) prescription for the treatment of gynecological diseases, and has been widely used in the treatment of AS in recent years.
Methods:
ApoE-/- atherosclerosis male mice were established by feeding with high-fat diet, and then randomly divided into three groups: Atherosclerosis group (AS), Danggui-Shaoyao-San group (DGSY), and Atorvastatin calcium group (X). The mice were administered with the drugs for 16 weeks. Pathological changes in aortic vessels were examined by staining with Oil red O, Masson and hematoxylin-eosin. In addition, blood lipids were analyzed. The level of IL-6 and IL-8 in aortic vessels were detected by ELISA and the expression of ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 in the aortic vascular endothelium were measured by Immunohistochemical. The mRNA expression of interα5β1/c-Abl/YAP in the aortic vessels were measured by Real-time quantitative PCR and location of expression was assessed by immunofluorescence.
Results:
DGSY can significantly reduce the content of TC,TG and LDL-C and increase the level of HDL-C in the serum, reduce the plaque area and inhibit the concentration of IL-6 and IL-8, down-regulate the expression of IVAM-1,VCAM-1 and interα5β1/ c-Abl/YAP in the aortic vessels.
Conclusions:
Collectively, DGSY can alleviate vascular endothelium damage and delay the occurrence of AS, and the underlying mechanism may be related to the multi-target protective of DGSY.
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