Research of ginsenoside Rb1 on inhibition of intimal smooth musclecell hyperplasia in autologous vein grafts

Objective:To study the role of ginsenoside Rb1 in inhibiting the autologous vein graft proliferating cell nuclear antigen(PCNA) expression and autologous vein graft intimal hyperplasia. Method:Fourty-five New Zealand rabbits were randomly divided equally into experimental group,model group and control group.Endoscopic surgery was utilized to excise their external jugular veins,and then establish an animal model for transplanted vein bridges by anastomosing every unilateral jugular vein end-to-end with the common carotid artery.After 4 weeks,the morphology and thickness of the vein graft intimas were observed under HE staining;the PCNA mRNA expression was examined by RT-PCR. Result:The HE-stained sections under light microscopy showed that at 4 weeks after transplantation the thickness of vein graft intimas in experimental group,model group and control group were(41.57±2.43)μm,(73.76±7.83)μm,(11.38±0.71)μm,with significant differences(P0.05);The intimal/medial thickness ratios of the 3 groups were(1.21±0.09),(1.44±0.12) and(0.28±0.07),and there were significantly differences(P0.05).The relative expression coefficients of PCNA mRNA in experimental group,model group and and control group were(0.942±0.004),(0.756±0.003) and(0.574±0.002),and there were significantly differences(P0.05). Conclusion:Ginsenoside Rb1 inhibits the overexpression of PCNA mRNA in vein grafts,which effectively reduces the risk of restenosis caused by intimal hyperplasia,and extends the lifespan of vein grafts.