title: Cordyceps sinensis extracts attenuate aortic transplant arteriosclerosis in rats.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Transplant arteriosclerosis is a hallmark of chronic rejection and is still the major limiting factor affecting the success of long-term organ transplants. Development of transplant arteriosclerosis is refractory to conventional immunosuppressive drugs, and adequate therapy is not yet available. The aim of this study was to determine the role of Cordyceps sinensis extracts in reducing the formation of transplant arteriosclerosis in a rat aortic transplant model.
  
  
  METHODS
  Lewis rat aortic allografts were transplanted into Brown-Norway recipient rats. Recipients received 0.5, 1, 2, and 5 mg/kg of Cordyceps sinensis extracts (or control saline) daily via intragastric injection for 60 d. Grafts were harvested 60 d post-transplantation and intimal thickness determined microscopically following hematoxylin and eosin (H and E) staining and abdominal aorta protein profiles determined by Western blot analysis. Cellular localization was assessed by histology and immunohistochemistry and the serum analyzed for tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).
  
  
  RESULTS
  C. sinensis administration resulted in a significant reduction in neointimal formation (neointimal thickness 8.27 ± 1.95 μm [0.5 mg/kg], 3.69 ± 1.43 μm [1 mg/kg], 3.69 ± 1.43 μm [1 mg/kg], 3.69 ± 1.43 μm [1 mg/kg] versus 11.42 ± 2.67 μm [control]) and in the proliferative activity of vascular smooth muscle cells. In addition, localized expression of TNF-α and ICAM-1 in transplant aortas was characterized by immunohistochemistry and immunoblot analyses demonstrating that C. sinensis treatment significantly reduced TNF-α and ICAM-1 levels compared with levels observed in controls (P < 0.05). Serum TNF-α and ICAM-1 levels were significantly reduced in C. sinensis-treated animals compared with controls (P < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  C. sinensis treatment effectively reduced the formation of transplant arteriosclerosis in a rat aortic transplant model.
authors.affiliation: Department of Transplantation Center, The First Affiliate Hospital of Wenzhou Medical College, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Mei
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Shuwen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Bicheng
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.forename: Shaoling
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Yirong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Xia
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001012:Aorta, Abdominal / Q000637:transplantation*; D001161:Arteriosclerosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D045424:Complex Mixtures / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D032661:Cordyceps; D007249:Inflammation / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous; D017539:Tunica Intima / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D045424:Complex Mixtures