Abstract
Cortex Eucommiae (Du-zhong) is the dried bark of the Eucommia ulmoides Oliv. The natural products identified from Du-zhong include lignans, iridoids, flavonoids, polysaccharides, terpenes, and proteins, Liu et al. (2012). Lignans, the main bioactive components, were protective against hypertensive renal injury in spontaneous hypertensive rats in our previous study, Li et al. (2012). Moreover, Eucommia lignans also diminished aldose reductase (AR) overexpression in the kidney, Li et al. (2012). However, the pathological mechanism underlying the protective effects of Eucommia lignans remains unknown. Cellular proliferation was reported to contribute to important pathological changes in hypertensive renal injuries, and increased angiotensin II (Ang II) expression was reported to be essential for target-organ damage during hypertension. Ang II is the main effective peptide in the renin-angiotensin system and is considered to be a key mediator in the development of hypertensive nephropathy, Rüster and Wolf (2011). Our preliminary results showed that Eucommia lignans had inhibitory effects on Ang II-induced proliferation of rat mesangial cells. In the present study, we investigated the effects of Eucommia ulmoides on Ang II-induced proliferation and apoptosis of rat mesangial cells. Cell cycle-related genes P21 and P27, and cell apoptosis-related genes Bax and Bcl-2, were determined.
Highlights
Cortex Eucommiae (Du-zhong) is the dried bark of the Eucommia ulmoides Oliv. and is one of the most popular tonic herbs in Asia
Cellular proliferation was reported to contribute to important pathological changes in hypertensive renal injuries, and increased angiotensin Angiotensin II RMCs (II) (Ang II) expression was reported to be essential for targetorgan damage during hypertension
Our preliminary results showed that Eucommia lignans had inhibitory effects on Ang II-induced proliferation of rat mesangial cells
Summary
Cortex Eucommiae (Du-zhong) is the dried bark of the Eucommia ulmoides Oliv. (family: Eucommiaceae) and is one of the most popular tonic herbs in Asia. The main bioactive components, were protective against hypertensive renal injury in spontaneous hypertensive rats in our previous study [2]. Cellular proliferation was reported to contribute to important pathological changes in hypertensive renal injuries, and increased angiotensin II (Ang II) expression was reported to be essential for targetorgan damage during hypertension. Ang II regulates the proliferation of RMCs and increases the formation of the extracellular matrix primarily through the induction of glomerular hypertension and nonhemodynamic effects, including the production of reactive oxygen species and the upregulation of Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine fibrotic growth factors. Our preliminary results showed that Eucommia lignans had inhibitory effects on Ang II-induced proliferation of rat mesangial cells. We investigated the effects of Eucommia ulmoides on Ang IIinduced proliferation and apoptosis of rat mesangial cells
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