scholarly journals Huangqi Shengmai Yin Protects against Radiation-Induced Cardiac Fibrosis Injury by Regulating the TGF-β1/Smads and MMPs

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Gu ◽  
Yongqi Liu ◽  
Hongyan Wu ◽  
Hailong Li ◽  
Kai Liu

Background. Radiation-induced heart damage is considered to be a progressive process of fibrosis. Emerging evidence has indicated that the Smads and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs)/tissue inhibitors of MMPs (TIMP) may be involved in radiation-induced cardiac fibrosis (RICF) by regulating the activation of TGF-β1 signaling pathway. Based on this, the present study was undertaken to characterize the effect of Huangqi Shengmai Yin (HSY) on RICF in a rat model. Methods. Precardiac region of rats was irradiated with 25 Gy X-rays, and their myocardial pathology scores in terms of injury and collagen volume fraction (CVF) and the expression levels of fibrotic molecules were detected. Results. The pathology scores and CVF in myocardial tissue increased after irradiation, and the expression of TGF-β1, Col1, and Col3 increased. This change indicated that such irradiation promoted the fibrosis damage in rat hearts. The damage was accompanied by an increase in the expression of Smad 2, Smad3, Smad4, and MMP14 and a decrease in the expression of Smad 7 and TIMP1. Administration of HSY weakened the RICF by decreasing pathology score and CVF and decreased the expression of TGF-β1, Col1, and Col3 in irradiated rat hearts. In addition, Smad2, Smad3, Smad4, and MMP14 were downregulated, while Smad 7 and TIMP1 were upregulated during intervention with HSY. Conclusions. The involvement of the TGF-β1/Smads and MMPs/TIMP system in RICF was confirmed. This study demonstrated, for the first time, that HSY attenuates the effects of RICF in a rat model. The effect HSY was found to be closely related to the TGF-β1/Smads signaling pathway and MMPs system. These results suggest that HSY is a prospective drug for clinical treatment of RICF.

2020 ◽  
Vol 61 (5) ◽  
pp. 657-665
Author(s):  
Jinmeng Zhang ◽  
Xinjia He ◽  
Xinya Bai ◽  
Yang Sun ◽  
Peng Jiang ◽  
...  

Abstract Radiation-induced heart damage is a serious side effect caused by radiotherapy, especially during the treatment of cancer near the chest. Trimetazidine is effective at reducing inflammation in the heart, but how it affects radiation-induced cardiac fibrosis (RICF) is unknown. To investigate the potential effect and molecular mechanism, we designed this project with a C57BL6 male mouse model supposing trimetazidine could inhibit RICF in mice. During the experiment, mice were randomly divided into six groups including a control group (Con), radiation-damaged model group (Mod) and four experimental groups receiving low-dose (10 mg/kg/day) or high-dose (20 mg/kg/day) trimetazidine before or after radiation treatment. Apart from the control group, all mice chests were exposed to 6 MV X-rays at a single dose of 20 Gy to induce RICF, and tissue analysis was done at 8 weeks after irradiation. Fibroblast or interstitial tissues and cardiac fibrosis-like characteristics were determined using haematoxylin and eosin and Masson staining, which can be used to assess myocardial fibrosis. Immunohistochemical analysis and RT-PCR were used to determine gene expression and study the molecular mechanism. As a result, this study suggests that trimetazidine inhibits RICF by reducing gene expression related to myocyte apoptosis and fibrosis formation, i.e. connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1, smad2 and smad3. In conclusion, by regulating the CTGF/TGF-β1/Smad pathway, trimetazidine could be a prospective drug for clinical treatment of RICF.


2017 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinmei Chen ◽  
Weijian Zhang ◽  
Lurong Zhang ◽  
Jiemin Zhang ◽  
Xiuying Chen ◽  
...  

Abstract Radiation-induced lung injury (RILI) is a common complication of thoracic radiotherapy, but efficacious therapy for RILI is lacking. This study ascertained whether glycyrrhetinic acid (GA; a functional hydrolyzed product of glycyrrhizic acid, which is extracted from herb licorice) can protect against RILI and investigated its relationship to the transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1/Smads signaling pathway. C57BL/6 mice were divided into four groups: a control group, a GA group and two irradiation (IR) groups. IR groups were exposed to a single fraction of X-rays (12 Gy) to the thorax and administered normal saline (IR + NS group) or GA (IR + GA group). Two days and 17 days after irradiation, histologic analyses were performed to assess the degree of lung injury, and the expression of TGF-β1, Smad2, Smad3 and Smad7 was recorded. GA administration mitigated the histologic changes of lung injury 2 days and 17 days after irradiation. Protein and mRNA expression of TGF-β1, Smad2 and Smad3, and the mRNA level of Smad7, in lung tissue were significantly elevated after irradiation. GA decreased expression of TGF-β1, Smad2 and Smad3 in lung tissue, but did not increase Smad7 expression. GA can protect against early-stage RILI. This protective effect may be associated with inhibition of the TGF-β1/Smads signaling pathway.


1996 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 1169-1178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kentaro Suzuya ◽  
Michihiro Furusaka ◽  
Noboru Watanabe ◽  
Makoto Osawa ◽  
Kiyohito Okamura ◽  
...  

Mesoscopic structures of SiC fibers produced from polycarbosilane by different methods were studied by diffraction and small-angle scattering of neutrons and x-rays. Microvoids of a size of 4–10 Å in diameter have been observed for the first time by neutron scattering in a medium momentum transfer range (Q = 0.1–1.0 Å−1). The size and the volume fraction of β–SiC particles were determined for fibers prepared at different heat-treatment temperatures. The results show that wide-angle neutron scattering measurements are especially useful for the study of the mesoscopic structure of multicomponent materials.


F1000Research ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 1013
Author(s):  
Mifetika Lukitasari ◽  
Mohammad Saifur Rohman ◽  
Dwi Adi Nugroho ◽  
Nila Aisyah Wahyuni ◽  
Mukhamad Nur Kholis ◽  
...  

Background: Metabolic syndrome is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Green tea and green coffee extracts, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents may participate in metabolic syndrome-induced cardiac fibrosis alleviation. However, the effect of combination of those extracts still needs exploration. Therefore, this study investigated the effect of green tea and decaffeinated light roasted green coffee extracts and their combination in metabolic syndrome-induced cardiac fibrosis rats. Methods: Metabolic syndrome rat model was i1nduced through high-fat high sucrose diets feeding for 8 weeks and injection of low dose streptozotocin at the 2nd week. The metabolic syndrome rats were divided into 4 experimental groups metabolic syndrome rats (MS); metabolic syndrome rats treated with 300 mg/ kg b.w green tea extract (GT); metabolic syndrome rats treated with 200 mg/ kg b.w decaffeinated light roasted green coffee extract (GC); metabolic syndrome rats treated with the combination of the two extracts (CE); and a normal control (NC) group was added. Angiotensin 2 level was analyzed by ELISA method. Gene expression of NF-κB, TNF-α, IL-6, Tgf-β1, Rac-1, and α-sma were analyzed by touchdown polymerase chain reaction methods. Results: Metabolic syndrome rats treated with green tea and decaffeinated light roasted green coffee significantly decreased angiotensin-2 serum level and cardiac inflammation and fibrosis gene expression level (NF-κB, TNF-α, IL-6, Tgf-β1, Rac-1, and α-sma). More significant alleviation was observed in the combination group. Conclusion: This study suggested that combination of green tea and decaffeinated light roasted green coffee extracts showed better improvement in metabolic syndrome-induced cardiac fibrosis rat model compared to that of single extract administration through inflammation inhibition


2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 3551-3556 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongtao Zhou ◽  
Xuefang Yu ◽  
Guiming Zhou

2021 ◽  
Vol 137 ◽  
pp. 111318
Author(s):  
Xiaoping Chen ◽  
Linzi Long ◽  
Ying Cheng ◽  
Jianfeng Chu ◽  
Zhiqing Shen ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (22) ◽  
pp. 12341
Author(s):  
Yixuan Ma ◽  
Yixin Kuang ◽  
Wenyan Bo ◽  
Qiaoqin Liang ◽  
Wenfei Zhu ◽  
...  

Exercise training has been reported to alleviate cardiac fibrosis and ameliorate heart dysfunction after myocardial infarction (MI), but the molecular mechanism is still not fully clarified. Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) exerts a protective effect on the infarcted heart. This study investigates whether exercise training could increase FGF21 protein expression and regulate the transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1)-Smad2/3-MMP2/9 signaling pathway to alleviate cardiac fibrosis following MI. Male wild type (WT) C57BL/6J mice and Fgf21 knockout (Fgf21 KO) mice were used to establish the MI model and subjected to five weeks of different types of exercise training. Both aerobic exercise training (AET) and resistance exercise training (RET) significantly alleviated cardiac dysfunction and fibrosis, up-regulated FGF21 protein expression, inhibited the activation of TGF-β1-Smad2/3-MMP2/9 signaling pathway and collagen production, and meanwhile, enhanced antioxidant capacity and reduced cell apoptosis in the infarcted heart. In contrast, knockout of Fgf21 weakened the cardioprotective effects of AET after MI. In vitro, cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) were isolated from neonatal mice hearts and treated with H2O2 (100 μM, 6 h). Recombinant human FGF21 (rhFGF21, 100 ng/mL, 15 h) and/or 5-Aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribonucleotide (AICAR, 1 mM, 15 h) inhibited H2O2-induced activation of the TGF-β1-Smad2/3-MMP2/9 signaling pathway, promoted CFs apoptosis and reduced collagen production. In conclusion, exercise training increases FGF21 protein expression, inactivates the TGF-β1-Smad2/3-MMP2/9 signaling pathway, alleviates cardiac fibrosis, oxidative stress, and cell apoptosis, and finally improves cardiac function in mice with MI. FGF21 plays an important role in the anti-fibrosis effect of exercise training.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Anxia He ◽  
Lijun Qian ◽  
Shihai Yan ◽  
Menglin Zhu ◽  
Xixuan Zhao ◽  
...  

Background. Global longitudinal strain (GLS) can be assessed by speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) to express the degree of cardiac fibrosis. Qianyangyuyin (QYYY) granules can effectively improve GLS in hypertensive patients. Using a hypertensive rat model, we carried out speckle tracking echocardiography to validate the effect of QYYY in diminishing LV remodeling. Methods. We randomly divided 16 spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) into SHR, SHR + valsartan (SHR + V), SHR + low-dose QYYY (SHR + QL), and SHR + high-dose QYYY (SHR + QH) groups, with four rats in each group. Another group of 4 Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats were selected into a normal control (WKY) group. At the 8th week, conventional echocardiographic parameters were measured by GE Vivid E95 ultrasound (12S probe, 10–12 MHz) and GLS by speckle tracking echocardiography with EchoPAC (version 203) software. HE and Masson’s trichrome staining were performed to detect the cardiomyocyte width and collagen volume fraction after rat sacrifice. Collagen I, α-SMA, S100A4, TGF-β, Smad 3, MYH6, and MYH7 were further analyzed by Western blot. Results. The absolute values of GLS significantly increased in the SHR + QH group compared to the SHR group, while the CVF and CW values significantly decreased. In addition, Collagen I, α-SMA, S100A4, TGF-β, Smad3, MYH7, and MYH7/MYH6 ratio remarkably reduced in the SHR + QH group. The value of GLS could be repetitively measured and positively correlated with the collagen volume fraction of the myocardium and the cardiomyocyte width of the left ventricular free wall. Conclusions. GLS is a reliable indicator to evaluate the therapeutic effect on left ventricular remodeling in hypertension. QYYY granules can inhibit the development of cardiac fibrosis in the hypertensive rat model.


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