title: [Effects of Chinese herbal medicine Guanxinkang on lipid metabolism and serum C-reactive protein, amyloid A protein and fibrinogen in apolipoprotein E-knockout mice with atherosclerosis].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To observe the effects of Guanxinkang (GXK) decoction, a compound traditional Chinese herbal medicine, on serum lipids and apolipoprotein A I (ApoA I), apolipoprotein B (ApoB), apolipoprotein E (ApoE), C-reactive protein (CRP), serum amyloid A protein (SAA) and fibrinogen (Fbg) concentrations of ApoE-knockout mice with atherosclerosis, and to explore the mechanism of GXK decoction in anti-atherosclerosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventy 6-week-old ApoE-knockout mice receiving a high-cholesterol diet were used to induce atherosclerosis and were randomly divided into 5 groups: untreated group, simvastatin group and low- (drug concentration is 0.864 g/mL), medium- (1.728 g/mL), and high-dose (3.456 g/mL) GXK groups. Another fourteen 6-week-old C57BL/6J mice were used as the normal control. Two 12-week-old mice were randomly selected from the normal control and the ApoE-knockout mice respectively to observe vulnerable plaque in the mouse's aortic by hematoxylin-eosin staining. Blood was collected from venous plexus of eye socket after gavage of corresponding drugs once daily for 8 weeks continuously, and then the serum was separated. Triglyceride (TAG) and total cholesterol (TC) were measured by enzyme-coupled assay; low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) were measured by selective precipitation method. Serum levels of ApoA I and ApoB were determined by turbidimetry. Double-antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect ApoE, CRP, SAA and Fbg concentrations in serum.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with the normal control group, the levels of serum TC, TAG, LDL-C, ApoB, CRP, SAA and Fbg in the untreated group were increased (P<0.05), and the serum concentrations of HDL-C, ApoA I and ApoE in the untreated group were decreased (P<0.05). After treatment, GXK decoction and simvastatin improved the dyslipidemia by increasing the concentrations of ApoA I and HDL-C and decreasing the concentrations of TC, TAG, LDL-C, ApoB, CRP, SAA and Fbg (P<0.05). The high-dose GXK decoction had the most marked effects on SAA and Fbg and the serum lipids compared with the low-dose and medium-dose GXK and simvastatin.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  GXK decoction may not only provide an active effect on hyperlipidemia, but also down-regulate the levels of serum CRP, SAA and Fbg. GXK decoction exerts an anti-atherosclerosis effect in ApoE-knockout mice.
authors.affiliation: Science and Technology Agency, Longhua Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 200032, China.
authors.forename: Mei-Jiao
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.forename: Jun-Ping
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Fu-Rong
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Yi-Yi
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001057:Apolipoproteins E / Q000235:genetics; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism*; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D005340:Fibrinogen / Q000378:metabolism; D050356:Lipid Metabolism / Q000187:drug effects*; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood; D008075:Lipoproteins, HDL / Q000097:blood; D008077:Lipoproteins, LDL / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D000685:Serum Amyloid A Protein / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D001057:Apolipoproteins E; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D008055:Lipids; D008075:Lipoproteins, HDL; D008077:Lipoproteins, LDL; D000685:Serum Amyloid A Protein; D005340:Fibrinogen; D002097:C-Reactive Protein