Effects of Chinese herbal compound of blood-activating, blood-activating and toxindispelling on ox-LDL-induced injury in human umbilical vein endothelial cells

Objective: To investigate the effects of drug-containing serum of Chinese herbal compound, blood-activating, blood-activating and toxin-dispelling on the oxidized low-density lipoprotein(ox-LDL)-induced injury, cell viability, inl armmatry factors in human umbilical vein endothelial cells(HUVECs). Methods: Thirty-two rats were randomly divided into four groups: the blank control group treated with distilled water, the test group I treated with Chinese herbal compound of Xiongshao Capsule(XSC)(0.135g/kg), the test group Ⅱ treated with Chinese herbal compound of HLC(0.135g/kg) and the test group Ⅲ treated with Chinese herbal compound of XSC(0.135g/kg) and Huanglian Capsule(HLC)(0.135g/kg). All the treatments were administered for 7 successive days by gastrogavage. Rats' blood serum was harvested 1h after the last administration to prepare respective drug-containing serum. HUVECs were exposed to ox-LDL to induce cell injury model and incubated with corresponding drugcontaining serum for 24 h. Untreated HUVECs were set for blank control. The survival number of HUVECs was investigated by MTT. Contents of nitric oxide(NO) were determined by colorimetry. Levels of lactate dehydrogenase(LDH), endothelin-1(ET-1), interleukin- 1β(IL-1β), E-selectin and intercellular adhesion molecule-1(ICAM-1) in supernatant of cultured HUVECs were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA). Expressions of inducible nitric oxide synthase(iNOS) in HUVECs were determined by Western Blot. Results: There were great quantity apoptosis and leakage of LDH in HUVECs compared with blank control group(P0.01). The treated groups improved the cell survival rate(P0.01), and decreased LDH leakage(P0.05). Levels of ET-1, IL-1β, E-selectin and ICAM-1 in the supernatant of HUVECs as well as expressions of iNOS were all reduced in the treated groups signfiicantly(P0.01, P0.05), while the content of NO increased signfiicantly(P0.05). Besides, the effect in the group Ⅲ seemed somewhat higher than that in the test group I and the test groupⅡ(P0.05). Conclusion: Drug-containing serum of XSC plus HLC has a certain inhibitory effect on the vascular endothelial oxidative stress and inl ammation response induced by ox-LDL. We suspected that protective effects on HUVECs maybe related with inhibition to bio-synthesis of iNOS.