Background: Atherosclerosis (AS) is associated with severe cardiovascular disease. The anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidation, and lipid regulating properties of baicalin suggest potential as an anti-atherosclerotic agent. We therefore investigated whether baicalin can protect against the development of atherosclerosis in an AS rabbit model and explored the underling mechanisms in THP-1 macrophages.
Methods And Results: In vivo, treatment with baicalin markedly decreased atherosclerotic lesion sizes and lipid accumulation in AS rabbit carotid arteries. Western blotting revealed that the protein expression levels of both peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) and liver X receptor alpha (LXRα) were up-regulated in the baicalin group compared with the model group. In vitro, baicalin restricted oxidized-low density lipoprotein (ox-LDL)-induced intracellular lipid accumulation and foam cell formation in THP-1 macrophages. Molecular data showed that baicalin significantly increased the expression levels of PPARγ, LXRα, ATP binding cassette transporters (ABC) A1 and ABCG1. Cell transfection experiments (including PPARγ and LXRα siRNAs) suggested that the effects of baicalin are mediated by the PPARγ-LXRα signalling pathway, which stimulates the expression of ABCA1 and ABCG1.
Conclusion: These results suggest that baicalin potentially exerts anti-atherosclerosis effects, possibly through the PPARγ-LXRα-ABCA1/ABCG1 pathway, by promoting efflux of cholesterol from macrophages and delaying the formation of foam cells.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2016.06.046 | DOI Listing |
Regen Biomater
November 2024
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Composite and Functional Materials, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China.
The hypoxia microenvironment post-myocardial infarction (MI) critically disturbs cellular metabolism and inflammation response, leading to scarce bioenergy supplying, prolonged inflammatory phase and high risk of cardiac fibrosis during cardiac restoration. Herein, an injectable hydrogel is prepared by Schiff base reaction between fructose-1,6-bisphosphate (FBP)-grafted carboxymethyl chitosan (CF) and oxidized dextran (OD), followed by loading fucoidan-coated baicalin (BA)-encapsulated zein nanoparticles (BFZ NPs), in which immunoregulatory and metabolism improving functions are integrally included. The grafted FBP serves to enhance glycolysis and provide more bioenergy for cardiomyocytes survival under hypoxia microenvironment, and elevating cellular antioxidant capacity pentose phosphate pathway.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiology (Basel)
December 2024
Department of Pharmaceutical Biology and Biotechnology, Division Pharmaceutical Biology and Botany, Wroclaw Medical University, Borowska 211A, 50-556 Wroclaw, Poland.
Georgi is a valuable medicinal plant of the family. Its roots have been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (under the name Huang-qin) since antiquity and are nowadays included in Chinese and European Pharmacopoeias. It is abundant in bioactive compounds which constitute up to 20% of dried root mass.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCytotechnology
February 2025
Henan International Joint Laboratory for Nuclear Protein Regulation, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004 Henan China.
Autophagy is a conservative process of self degradation, in which abnormal organelles, proteins and other macromolecules are encapsulated and transferred to lysosomes for subsequent degradation. It maintains the intracellular balance, and responds to cellular conditions such as hunger or stress. To date, there are mainly three types of autophagy: macroautophagy, microautophagy and chaperone-mediated autophagy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHeliyon
January 2025
School of Basic Medicine, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China.
Baicalin and baicalein are the primary flavonoids derived from the desiccated root of , which is a member of the Lamiaceae family; these flavonoids have diverse pharmacological properties and show significant potential for the management of central nervous system disorders. Multiple studies have indicated that these substances effectively reduce the severity of illnesses such as depression, stroke, and degenerative disorders of the central nervous system by exerting antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, regulating programmed cell death, and reducing mitochondrial malfunction. Recent studies have highlighted the connection between the accumulation of iron and the ability of baicalein to protect the nervous system.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Control Release
January 2025
Institute of Biomedical Engineering, College of Medicine, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031, PR China. Electronic address:
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