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Wen-Xin Decoction ameliorates vascular endothelium dysfunction via the PI3K/AKT/eNOS pathway in experimental atherosclerosis in rats

Overview of attention for article published in BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies, January 2016
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Title
Wen-Xin Decoction ameliorates vascular endothelium dysfunction via the PI3K/AKT/eNOS pathway in experimental atherosclerosis in rats
Published in
BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies, January 2016
DOI 10.1186/s12906-016-1002-7
Pubmed ID
Authors

Tongda Li, Dongmei Li, Hui Xu, Huamin Zhang, Danli Tang, Hongxin Cao

Abstract

Nitric oxide (NO) is the most powerful vasodilator that inhibits leukocyte adhesion, platelet aggregation, and vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation. However, excessive NO can cause lipid peroxidation and direct endothelial cell damage. Therefore, investigation of the role of NO in artherosclerosis development is important. Wen-Xin Decoction (WXD) has been shown to relieve myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury and prevent leukocyte adhesion and invasion; in addition, it can accelerate angiogenesis and prevent platelet activation and aggregation. In this study, we focused on the NO pathway to further clarify the protective effects of WXD on the vascular endothelium in rat models of artherosclerosis. Wistar rats were randomly divided into a normal group (n = 10) and a model group (n = 75). Rat models of atherosclerosis were generated by intraperitoneal vitamin D3 (3 months) injections and administration of a high-fat diet (3 months with vitamin D3 and 2 months alone). The model rats were randomly divided into five groups (n = 15 each): model (saline), atorvastatin (4.8 mg/kg/d atorvastatin), high-dose WXD (9 g/kg/d), medium-dose WXD (4.5 g/kg/d), and low-dose WXD (2.25 g/kg/d) groups. Each group received continuous drug or saline administration (suspended liquid gavage) for 30 days, following which all animals were sacrificed. The ultrastructure and histopathological changes of vascular endothelial cells and the expression of PI3K/AKT/eNOS and iNOS in the thoracic aorta tissue were analyzed. WXD increased NO levels, modulated the NO/ET-1 ratio, and promoted repair of the injured vascular endothelium in a dose-dependent manner. At a high dose, WXD regulated the NO/ET-1 ratio as effectively as atorvastatin; furthermore, it increased NO levels within the physiological range to prevent endothelial damage caused by excessive NO expression. Real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analysis showed that WXD significantly upregulated the mRNA and protein expressions of PI3K, AKT, and eNOS mRNA and significantly increased AKT and eNOS phosphorylation. Our results suggest that WXD protects and maintains the integrity of the vascular endothelium by activating the PI3K/AKT/eNOS pathway, decreasing iNOS expression, and promoting the release of physiological NO levels.

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Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 17 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
Unknown 17 100%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Bachelor 3 18%
Student > Master 2 12%
Lecturer 2 12%
Student > Ph. D. Student 2 12%
Student > Doctoral Student 1 6%
Other 1 6%
Unknown 6 35%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Medicine and Dentistry 4 24%
Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science 3 18%
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology 2 12%
Nursing and Health Professions 2 12%
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 1 6%
Other 0 0%
Unknown 5 29%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 1. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 25 January 2016.
All research outputs
#18,436,183
of 22,840,638 outputs
Outputs from BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies
#2,512
of 3,631 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#286,266
of 395,741 outputs
Outputs of similar age from BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies
#52
of 79 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 22,840,638 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 11th percentile – i.e., 11% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 3,631 research outputs from this source. They typically receive more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 8.5. This one is in the 18th percentile – i.e., 18% of its peers scored the same or lower than it.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 395,741 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one is in the 15th percentile – i.e., 15% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.
We're also able to compare this research output to 79 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one is in the 18th percentile – i.e., 18% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.