Oxidative stress and inflammation are the important pathological basis of atherogenesis. So, attenuating oxidative stress and inflammation has a very important significance in the prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis. The aim of present study was to investigate whether anti-atherosclerotic effect of Tongxinluo (TXL), a compound traditional Chinese medicine, is related to its anti-oxidation and anti-inflammation in human cardiac microvascular endothelial cells (HCMEC). We found that TXL treatment significantly reduced serum lipid levels and atherosclerotic plaque formation of apoE-deficient mice, and improved endothelial cell function as evidenced by increased expression of CD31 and eNOS. TXL pretreatment could abrogate the up-regulation of ROS and MDA induced by C16. Further experiments showed that the anti-oxidative effect of TXL may be related to inhibiting the expression of p22(phox), p47(phox) and HO-1 in HCMECs. We also found that TXL could inhibit the release of IL-1β and TNFα induced by C16, which is mediated by inhibiting the expression and activation of NF-κB. In conclusion, TXL decreases atherosclerotic plaque formation and improves endothelial cell function by inhibiting oxidative stress and inflammation in HCMECs. This finding provides a new molecular mechanism for the anti-atherosclerotic effect of TXL.
Keywords: TXL; atherosclerosis; human cardiac microvascular endothelial cells; inflammation; oxidative stress.