Abstract
Objective
To evaluate the angiogenic effect of the Xiongshao capsule (芎芍胶囊, XSC) in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC), and to investigate the possible molecular mechanisms mediating its biological effect.
Methods
Serum pharmacology was applied in this study, in which different doses of XSC were administrated to rats orally and then XSC-containing serum (XSC-S) was collected for the following in vitro experiments. The viability of HUVEC was determined by the 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Cell density was observed via phase-contrast microscopy. Fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis with propidium iodide staining was performed to determine cell cycle phase. Cell migration was determined by wound-healing method. Capillary tube formation by HUVEC was examined using ECMatrix gel-based assay. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) expression levels were measured by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA) analyses.
Results
XSC-S dose-dependently stimulated proliferation of HUVEC by promoting the cell cycle G1 to S progression. In addition, XSC-S treatment dramatically increased the migration and capillary tube formation of HUVEC in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, XSC-S enhanced the expression of VEGF and bFGF at both mRNA and protein levels.
Conclusion
XSC can promote several features of angiogenesis in endothelial cells through up-regulating the expression of bFGF and VEGF, suggesting that XSC may be a potential novel therapeutic agent for the treatment of ischemic heart diseases.
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Supported by the Developmental Fund of CHEN Ke-ji Integrative Medicine (No. CKJ 2008056 and CKJ 2010019)
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Lin, Jm., Zhao, Jy., Zhuang, Qc. et al. Xiongshao Capsule (芎芍胶囊) promotes angiogenesis of HUVEC via enhancing cell proliferation and up-regulating the expression of bFGF and VEGF. Chin. J. Integr. Med. 17, 840–846 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11655-011-0895-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11655-011-0895-8