title: Protective effects of ligustrazine on TNF-α-induced endothelial dysfunction.
abstract: To investigate the effects of Ligustrazine, a compound derived from chuanxiong, on tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) stimulated endothelial cells. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were stimulated with TNF-α in vitro. Nitric oxide (NO) was measured as a standard of endothelial dysfunction. Two important indicators of autoimmunity, intracellular adhesion molecular-1 (ICAM-1) and heat shock protein 60 (HSP60), were selected to evaluate the influence of Ligustrazine on HUVECs. Ligustrazine (40 μg/ml) significantly reversed the decrease in NO production induced by TNF-α (5 ng/ml) in HUVECs. The expressions of ICAM-1 and HSP60 were increased by TNF-α treatment, but dramatically inhibited by treatment with ligustrazine in TNF-α-stimulated cells. Ligustrazine increased the production of NO in HUVECs and had an immunomodulatory effect on HUVECs stimulated with TNF-α by down-regulating the expression of ICAM-1 and HSP60. These results suggest that ligustrazine protects the endothelium via inhibition of immunological reactions, preventing atherosclerosis.
authors.affiliation: Beijing Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Beijing, China. whjyuanzhang@yahoo.com.cn
authors.forename: Hong-Jin
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hao
authors.forename: Sheng-Qi
authors.initials: SQ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Bi-Lian
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: Xian-Bing
authors.initials: XB
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D015551:Autoimmunity / Q000187:drug effects; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D018834:Chaperonin 60 / Q000378:metabolism; D015536:Down-Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D061307:Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D018799:Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 / Q000378:metabolism; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000096:biosynthesis; D011719:Pyrazines / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D018834:Chaperonin 60; D011719:Pyrazines; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D018799:Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1; D009569:Nitric Oxide; C017953:tetramethylpyrazine