Effects of Andrographitis Paniculata extracts on the expression of CD40 in endothelial cells

Abstract

In order to investigate the expression of CD40 in endothelial cells (ECs) in a variety of injured conditions and the interventional role of Andrographitis Paniculata isolate (API₀₁₃₄), the thoracic aorta ECs of guinea pigs were cultured in vitro until the third passage, incubated in the presence of media containing xanthine oxidase (XO) and xanthine (Xan) which produced oxygen free radical (OFR group); oxidized-LDL (ox-LDL group); XO, Xan and API₀₁₃₄ (OFR+API₀₁₃₄ group); or ox-LDL and API₀₁₃₄ (ox-LDL+API₀₁₃₄ group). The expression of CD40 in ECs was detected by immunofluorescence assay and reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR). The results showed as compared with the control group, the expression of CD40 in ECs in OFR group and ox-LDL group was increased (P<0.01), but attenuated significantly in OFR+ API₀₁₃₄ group and ox-LDL+API₀₁₃₄ group (P<0.05). It was suggested that API₀₁₃₄ could protect atherosclerosis by inhibiting the expression of CD40 molecule in injured ECs.

Keywords

API₀₁₃₄ / endothelial cells / CD40 / atherosclerosis