Ye-wei Huang, Fang Luo, Mengmeng Zhang, Li-Tian Wang, WenLuer Meng, Dan-Dan Hu, Jin-Bo Yang, Jun Sheng, Xuanjun Wang
{"title":"r20 (S)-protopanaxatriol improves atherosclerosis by inhibiting low-density lipoprotein receptor degradation in ApoE KO mice","authors":"Ye-wei Huang, Fang Luo, Mengmeng Zhang, Li-Tian Wang, WenLuer Meng, Dan-Dan Hu, Jin-Bo Yang, Jun Sheng, Xuanjun Wang","doi":"10.1097/fjc.0000000000001566","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Atherosclerosis (AS) is a chronic progressive disease caused by various factors and causes various cerebrovascular and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Reducing the plasma levels of low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) is the primary goal in preventing and treating AS. Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin/Kexin Type 9 (PCSK9) plays a crucial role in regulating LDL-C metabolism. Panax notoginseng has potent lipid-reducing effects and protects against CVDs, and its saponins induce vascular dilatation, inhibit thrombus formation, and are used in treating CVDs. However, the anti-AS effect of the secondary metabolite, 20(S) protopanaxatriol (20(S)-PPT), remains unclear. In this study, the anti-AS effect and molecular mechanism of 20(S)-PPT were investigated in vivo and in vitro by western blotting, real time-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA), immunofluorescence staining, and other assays. The in vitro experiments revealed that 20(S)-PPT reduced the levels of PCSK9 in the supernatant of HepG2 cells, upregulated low density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) protein levels, promoted LDL uptake by HepG2 cells, and reduced PCSK9 mRNA transcription by upregulating the levels of FoxO3 protein and mRNA and decreasing the levels of HNF1α and SREBP2 protein and mRNA. The in vivo experiments revealed that 20(S)-PPT upregulated aortic αSMA expression, increased the stability of atherosclerotic plaques, and reduced aortic plaque formation induced by a high-cholesterol fed in ApoE-/- mice (HCF group). Additionally, 20(S)PPT reduced the aortic expression of CD68, reduced inflammation in the aortic root, and alleviated the hepatic lesions in the HCF group. The study revealed that 20(S)-PPT inhibited LDLR degradation via PCSK9 to alleviate AS.","PeriodicalId":15212,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.6000,"publicationDate":"2024-04-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1097/fjc.0000000000001566","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"CARDIAC & CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEMS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Atherosclerosis (AS) is a chronic progressive disease caused by various factors and causes various cerebrovascular and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Reducing the plasma levels of low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) is the primary goal in preventing and treating AS. Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin/Kexin Type 9 (PCSK9) plays a crucial role in regulating LDL-C metabolism. Panax notoginseng has potent lipid-reducing effects and protects against CVDs, and its saponins induce vascular dilatation, inhibit thrombus formation, and are used in treating CVDs. However, the anti-AS effect of the secondary metabolite, 20(S) protopanaxatriol (20(S)-PPT), remains unclear. In this study, the anti-AS effect and molecular mechanism of 20(S)-PPT were investigated in vivo and in vitro by western blotting, real time-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA), immunofluorescence staining, and other assays. The in vitro experiments revealed that 20(S)-PPT reduced the levels of PCSK9 in the supernatant of HepG2 cells, upregulated low density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) protein levels, promoted LDL uptake by HepG2 cells, and reduced PCSK9 mRNA transcription by upregulating the levels of FoxO3 protein and mRNA and decreasing the levels of HNF1α and SREBP2 protein and mRNA. The in vivo experiments revealed that 20(S)-PPT upregulated aortic αSMA expression, increased the stability of atherosclerotic plaques, and reduced aortic plaque formation induced by a high-cholesterol fed in ApoE-/- mice (HCF group). Additionally, 20(S)PPT reduced the aortic expression of CD68, reduced inflammation in the aortic root, and alleviated the hepatic lesions in the HCF group. The study revealed that 20(S)-PPT inhibited LDLR degradation via PCSK9 to alleviate AS.
期刊介绍:
Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology is a peer reviewed, multidisciplinary journal that publishes original articles and pertinent review articles on basic and clinical aspects of cardiovascular pharmacology. The Journal encourages submission in all aspects of cardiovascular pharmacology/medicine including, but not limited to: stroke, kidney disease, lipid disorders, diabetes, systemic and pulmonary hypertension, cancer angiogenesis, neural and hormonal control of the circulation, sepsis, neurodegenerative diseases with a vascular component, cardiac and vascular remodeling, heart failure, angina, anticoagulants/antiplatelet agents, drugs/agents that affect vascular smooth muscle, and arrhythmias.
Appropriate subjects include new drug development and evaluation, physiological and pharmacological bases of drug action, metabolism, drug interactions and side effects, application of drugs to gain novel insights into physiology or pathological conditions, clinical results with new and established agents, and novel methods. The focus is on pharmacology in its broadest applications, incorporating not only traditional approaches, but new approaches to the development of pharmacological agents and the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Please note that JCVP does not publish work based on biological extracts of mixed and uncertain chemical composition or unknown concentration.