title: Effect of panax notoginseng saponins injection on the p38MAPK pathway in lung tissue in a rat model of hypoxic pulmonary hypertension.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the effect of panax notoginseng saponins (PNS) injection on pulmonary artery pressure and the expression of p38MAPK in lung tissue of rats subjected to chronic hypoxia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty adult male Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups (ten in each group): rats in control group were exposed to normoxic condition and the rats in hypoxia group and PNS group were subjected to 4-week hypoxia, and PNS injection (50 mg · kg(-1) · d(-1)) was administrated intraperitoneally at 30 min in the PNS group daily before the rats were kept in the hypoxic chamber, while rats in the other two groups received equal dose of normal saline instead. After chronic hypoxia, mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP) and mean carotid artery pressure (mCAP) were measured. The heart and lung tissues were harvested, and right ventricle (RV) and left ventricle plus ventricular septum (LV+S) were weighed to calculate the ratio of RV/(LV+S). The expression of p38MAPK mRNA was determined by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, the quantity of phosphorylated p38MAPK (p-p38MAPK) in rat lung tissues and pulmonary arterioles was determined by Western blot and immunohistochemistry.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with the control group, mPAP and the ratio of RV/(LV+S) in the hypoxia group were increased, the expression of p-p38MAPK in pulmonary arterioles and p38MAPK mRNA in the lung were higher (P<0.05). The changes of these parameters in the hypoxia group were significantly attenuated by PNS treatment (P<0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  PNS injection was shown to prevent hypoxic pulmonary hypertension at least partly by regulating p38MAPK pathway.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathophysiology, Basic Medicine College, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325035, China.
authors.forename: Shan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Meng-xiao
authors.initials: MX
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Hai-e
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Cheng-yun
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Wan-tie
authors.initials: WT
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001160:Arterioles / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002339:Carotid Arteries / Q000187:drug effects / Q000503:physiopathology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000187:drug effects / Q000503:physiopathology; D006439:Hemodynamics / Q000187:drug effects; D006976:Hypertension, Pulmonary / Q000150:complications / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D000860:Hypoxia / Q000150:complications / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D007267:Injections; D008168:Lung / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D020935:MAP Kinase Signaling System / Q000187:drug effects*; D008297:Male; D053723:Panax notoginseng / Q000737:chemistry*; D011651:Pulmonary Artery / Q000187:drug effects / Q000503:physiopathology; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012503:Saponins / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D048051:p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D012333:RNA, Messenger; D012503:Saponins; D048051:p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases