Abstract | ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: The prevalence of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) has been increasing worldwide. Despite significant improvements in therapeutics and on-going developments of novel targeted-treatment regimens, cardiac diseases lack effective preventive and curative therapies with minimal side effects. Therefore, there is an urgent need to identify and propagate alternative and complementary therapies against cardiovascular diseases. Some traditional Chinese medicines can contribute to the prevention and treatment of CVDs and other chronic diseases, with few side effects. Hirudo, a medicinal leech, has been acclaimed for improving blood circulation and overcoming blood stagnation; however, the precise molecular mechanisms of leech extract treatment against pathological cardiac remodeling remain elusive. In this study, we aimed to delineate the molecular mechanisms of medicinal leech extract in the treatment of cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis, using both in vitro and in vivo assessments. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted in vitro and in vivo animal experiments, including cell-viability assays, fluorescence microscopy, immunoblotting, immunohistochemistry, and Masson's trichrome staining. RESULTS: CONCLUSION:
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Authors | Chien-Hao Wang, Sudhir Pandey, Kalaiselvi Sivalingam, Marthandam Asokan Shibu, Wei-Wen Kuo, Yu-LanYeh, Vijaya Padma Viswanadha, Yuan-Chuan Lin, Shih-Chieh Liao, Chih-Yang Huang |
Journal | Journal of ethnopharmacology
(J Ethnopharmacol)
Vol. 264
Pg. 113346
(Jan 10 2021)
ISSN: 1872-7573 [Electronic] Ireland |
PMID | 32896627
(Publication Type: Journal Article)
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Copyright | Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. |
Chemical References |
- Biological Factors
- Cardiotonic Agents
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Topics |
- Animals
- Biological Factors
- Cardiomegaly
(drug therapy, etiology, pathology)
- Cardiotonic Agents
(isolation & purification, pharmacology, therapeutic use)
- Cell Survival
(drug effects, physiology)
- Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
- Fibrosis
- Hirudo medicinalis
- Hypertension
(complications, drug therapy, pathology)
- Leeches
- Male
- Myocytes, Cardiac
(drug effects, pathology)
- Rats
- Rats, Inbred SHR
- Rats, Inbred WKY
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