title: Puerarin protects against high glucose-induced acute vascular dysfunction: role of heme oxygenase-1 in rat thoracic aorta.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the antioxidant and vascular protective effect of puerarin, an isoflavone glycoside known in traditional Chinese medicine on vascular reactivity subsequent to high glucose stress.
  
  
  METHODS
  The thoracic aortic rings with or without endothelium from male SD rats were mounted in an organ bath. Isometric contraction of aortic rings was measured. HO-1 protein expression and HO activity were also evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  (1) After incubation with 44 mmol/L of high glucose for 2 or 4 h, the vascular contraction responses to phenylephrine (PE) and relaxation response to acetylcholine (Ach) decreased in an endothelium-dependent manner; (2) Coincubation with puerarin (10(-10)-10(-8) mol/L) and high glucose, the high glucose-induced vasoconstriction and vasodilation dysfunction was partly inhibited in a dose-dependent manner; (3) Puerarin increased the HO-1 protein expression and HO activity of thoracic aorta. ZnPP (an inhibitor of heme oxygenase-1) offset the protective effect of puerarin.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Puerarin could alleviate the high glucose-induced acute endothelium-dependent vascular dysfunction in rat aortic rings. HO-1 activity was proposed as a mechanism to account for the protection of vascular responses by puerarin.
authors.affiliation: National Education Base for Basic Medical Sciences, Department of Physiology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310058, China.
authors.forename: Xiang-hong
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.forename: Chao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ni
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Yue-liang
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Lin-lin
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Ying-ying
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000109:Acetylcholine / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D000818:Animals; D001013:Aorta, Thoracic / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D005947:Glucose / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051547:Heme Oxygenase-1 / Q000502:physiology*; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007529:Isoflavones / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D010656:Phenylephrine / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D014661:Vasoconstriction; D014664:Vasodilation; D014665:Vasodilator Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D007529:Isoflavones; D014665:Vasodilator Agents; D010656:Phenylephrine; D051547:Heme Oxygenase-1; D005947:Glucose; D000109:Acetylcholine; C033607:puerarin