title: Effects of lignans extracted from Eucommia ulmoides and aldose reductase inhibitor epalrestat on hypertensive vascular remodeling.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the effects of lignans extracted from Eucommia ulmoides and epalrestat on vascular remodeling in spontaneously hypertensive rats.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ten-week-old male spontaneously hypertensive rats were randomly divided into 3 groups (12 rats each group), and treated orally with 100 mg/kg/d of captopril (an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor), 100 mg/kg/d of epalrestat (an aldose reductase inhibitor) and 300 mg/kg/d of lignans by gavage daily for 16 weeks, respectively. Sex-, age-, and number-matched spontaneously hypertensive rats and normotensive Wistar Kyoto rats, were treated with distilled water (vehicle) as controls. The rats were weighed weekly. Mean arterial blood pressure and heart rate were measured periodically by non-invasive blood pressure monitoring. They were sacrificed at the end of experiment (26-week-old). Superior mesenteric artery and aorta were isolated for determination of histomorphometry and the expression of aldose reductase by immunohistochemistry.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Captopril and lignans, but not epalrestat, decreased mean arterial blood pressure in spontaneously hypertensive rats. Vascular remodeling was improved in all three treated groups by histomorphometry.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Both lignans and epalrestat reversed hypertensive vascular remodeling. Aldose reductase played a vital role in the pathologic process of hypertensive vascular remodeling rather than elevation of blood pressure. These data suggested that aldose reductase could be a new therapeutic target for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, PR China.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.forename: Jun-Jie
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Chang-Fu
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.forename: Wei-Hua
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Zhen-Shan
authors.initials: ZS
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Na
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Dong-Sheng
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Ouyang
mesh_terms: D000449:Aldehyde Reductase / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001011:Aorta / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D002216:Captopril / Q000494:pharmacology; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D031283:Eucommiaceae; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000187:drug effects; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology*; D017705:Lignans / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D017538:Mesenteric Artery, Superior / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology; D024301:Plant Bark; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D011918:Rats, Inbred SHR; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012236:Rhodanine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology; D053778:Thiazolidines / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D017705:Lignans; D053778:Thiazolidines; C038131:epalrestat; D012236:Rhodanine; D002216:Captopril; D000449:Aldehyde Reductase