[Effect of Erythrina variegata on Ca2+ homeostasis in ovariectomized rats and action mechanism].
OBJECTIVE
To study the effect of Erythrina variegata (EV) on Ca2+ homeostasis in ovariectomized rats and the regulation on gene expression in duodenum and kidney.


METHODS
Four weeks after surgical operation, the ovariectomized (OVX) rats were administered orally with estradiol and EV extracts for 14 weeks. Ca level in serum and urine was measured by colorimetric methods, and gene expressions in duodenum and kidney were analyzed by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).


RESULTS
EV extracts could improve the serum Ca level and inhibite the urinary Ca excretion in OVX rats, and this might be due to the upregulation of EV on VDR mRNA expression in duodenum and CaBP-9k mRNA expression in kidney.


CONCLUSIONS
EV could maintain Ca homeostasis in OVX rats.
Zhang
Yan
Y
State Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine and Molecular Pharmacology, Shenzhen 518057, China. medicineyan@yahoo.com.cn
Li
Xiao-Li
XL
Huang
Wen-Xiu
WX
D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000652:urine; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004386:Duodenum / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D004895:Erythrina / Q000737:chemistry*; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000187:drug effects; D006706:Homeostasis / Q000187:drug effects*; D007668:Kidney / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D010052:Ovariectomy; D024301:Plant Bark / Q000737:chemistry; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000737:chemistry; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D018167:Receptors, Calcitriol / Q000235:genetics; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D064030:S100 Calcium Binding Protein G / Q000235:genetics
D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D018167:Receptors, Calcitriol; D064030:S100 Calcium Binding Protein G; D002118:Calcium