title: Gastrodin protects against cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis.
abstract: Phenolic glucoside gastrodin (Gas), which is a main component extracted from the Chinese herbs Gastrodia elata Bl, is a well-known natural calcium antagonist with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory functions. It has long been used clinically for treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Previous studies have shown that gastrodin possesses comprehensive pharmacological functions. However, very little is known about whether gastrodin has protective role on cardiac hypertrophy. The aim of this study was to determine whether gastrodin attenuates pressure overload-induced cardiac hypertrophy in mice and to clarify the underlying molecular mechanisms. Our data demonstrated that gastrodin prevented cardiac hypertrophy induced by aortic banding (AB), as assessed by heart weight/body weight and lung weight/body weight ratios, echocardiographic parameters, and gene expression of hypertrophic markers. The inhibitory effect of gastrodin on cardiac hypertrophy is mediated by ERK1/2 signaling and GATA-4 activation. Further studies showed that gastrodin attenuated fibrosis and collagen synthesis through abrogating ERK1/2 signaling pathway. Therefore, these findings indicated that gastrodin, which is a potentially safe and inexpensive therapy for clinical use, has protective potential in targeting cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis through suppression of ERK1/2 signaling.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, JieFang Road 238, Wuhan, 430060, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Chunming
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Shu
authors.forename: Changgui
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Da-Ping
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Haipeng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Heng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zong
authors.forename: Zhouyan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Bian
authors.forename: Xuan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.forename: Jia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Qizhu
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Tang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001592:Benzyl Alcohols / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006332:Cardiomegaly / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003094:Collagen / Q000096:biosynthesis; D005355:Fibrosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000517:prevention & control*; D050991:GATA4 Transcription Factor / Q000378:metabolism; D005960:Glucosides / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D020935:MAP Kinase Signaling System / Q000187:drug effects*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice
chemical_list: D001592:Benzyl Alcohols; D050991:GATA4 Transcription Factor; D005960:Glucosides; C045345:gastrodin; D003094:Collagen