Protective Effects of Angong Niuhuang Pill on Early Atherosclerosis in ApoE-/- Mice by Reducing the Inflammatory Response

• Published in: Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine Vol. 2019; no. 2019; pp. 1 - 13
• Main Authors: Nie, Hong, Zhu, Tao, Xiao, Wei, Xu, Yimin, Ye, Kaihe, Zhang, Zhe, Fan, Qinghong, Yin, Zhen, Chai, Yushuang, Chai, Xiaomeng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cairo, Egypt Hindawi Publishing Corporation 01.01.2019; Hindawi; Hindawi Limited
• Subjects: Aorta; Apolipoprotein E; Arteriosclerosis; Atherosclerosis; Cardiovascular diseases; CC chemokine receptors; CCR2 protein; CD4 antigen; Cell adhesion; Cell adhesion & migration; Cell adhesion molecules; Central nervous system; Chemokine receptors; Chemokines; CXCR3 protein; Cytokines; Disease; Endothelium; Gene expression; Helper cells; Herbal medicine; High fat diet; Homeostasis; Inflammation; Inflammatory response; Intercellular adhesion molecule 1; Interleukin 6; Lymphocytes T; Medicine; Monocyte chemoattractant protein 1; Pathogenesis; Proteins; Simvastatin; Spleen; Thrombosis; Traditional Chinese medicine; Transforming growth factor-b1; Vascular cell adhesion molecule 1; China
• ISSN: 1741-427X; 1741-4288
• DOI: 10.1155/2019/9747212

Atherosclerosis (AS) is the primary cause of cardiocerebrovascular disease, and inflammation is responsible for the initiation of its pathogenesis. Therefore, targeting inflammatory pathways to prevent AS progression is an ideal strategy. Angong Niuhuang pill (ANP) is a well-known traditional Chinese medicine and has been widely used for thousands of years to treat central nervous system and cardiovascular diseases. In this study, we investigated the role of ANP in reducing inflammation during early AS, using a high-fat diet-induced ApoE−/− mouse model of AS. Compared to those with simvastatin, ANP had no significant effect on serum triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein, and high-density lipoprotein levels. However, it effectively inhibited splenic and vascular inflammation. This agent also reduced the Th17/CD4+T ratio and mRNA expression of IL-6 and increased the Treg/CD4+T ratio and mRNA expression of TGF-β1. Thus, ANP restored Th17/Treg homeostasis in the spleen. It also regulated pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine expression in the aorta in a similar manner. Further, it downregulated the expression of chemokine receptors (CCR2, CXCR3), their ligands (MCP-1, MCP-2, and MCP-3), and cell adhesion molecules (VCAM-1, ICAM-1) in arterial vessels. These results indicate that ANP can ameliorate the development of early AS, mainly by reducing inflammation instead of acting as an antihyperlipidemic drug.