Abstract
Hypertension is a common health problem that substantially increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. The condition increases blood pressure, which causes alterations in vascular structure and leads to the development of vascular pathologies. 2,3,5,4′-Tetrahydroxystilbene-2-O-β-D-glucoside (THSG), a resveratrol analogue extracted from a Chinese medicinal plant, has been proven to have numerous vascular protection functions. This study investigated whether THSG can improve vascular remodeling, which has thus far remained unclear. Orally administering THSG to spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) aged 12 weeks for 14 weeks significantly inhibited intima-media thickness in the lower parts of the aortic arch, increased the vascular diastolic rate in response to acetylcholine, and reduced remodelling-related mRNA expression, such as that of ACTA2, CCL3, COL1A2, COL3A1, TIMP1 WISP2, IGFBP1, ECE1, KLF5, MYL1 BMP4, FN1, and PAI-1. Immunofluorescence staining also showed an inhibitory effect similar to that of THSG on PAI-1 protein expression in rat aortas. Results from immunoprecipitation and a Western blot assay showed that THSG inhibited the acetylation of Smad3. A chromatin immunoprecipitation assay showed that THSG prevented Smad3 binding to the PAI-1 proximal promoter in SHR aortas. In conclusion, our results demonstrated that the inhibitory effect of THSG on aortic remodelling involved the deacetylating role of Smad3 with increasing blood flow and with constant blood pressure.
Highlights
TGF-β is implicated in restenosis and attributed to TGFβ-mediated intimal thickening and arterial remodeling [1]
THSG almost completely suppressed thickening; aortic intima-media thickness (IMT) in rats given THSG was reduced to 165.6 ± 10.4 μm (n = 4, #P < 0.05, THSG versus spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs)) (Figures 1(a) and 1(b))
The number of the elastic layers and the spacing between the elastic layers are greatly reduced in SHR aortas treated with THSG compared with nontreated SHR group (Figure 1(a))
Summary
TGF-β is implicated in restenosis and attributed to TGFβ-mediated intimal thickening and arterial remodeling [1]. TGF-β expression and activation in SHR aortas has been firmly established to be higher than in WKY rats [2, 3]. TGF-β proteins are the main regulators of blood vessel development and maintenance. Zacchigna et al recently reported that TGF-β regulation is linked to blood pressure homeostasis [4]. TGF-β is a crucial factor for vascular remodeling [5] and abundant collagen matrix deposition is dependent on endogenous TGF-β activity [6]. TGF-β induces PAI-1 expression, and Smad directly mediates TGFβ signalling through direct binding to a TGF-β responsive element in the PAI-1 promoter [6, 7]
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