Abstract
Salvia miltiorrhiza (SM) has been used clinically in Asian countries to improve the microcirculation
in the human body. Although a pure compound extracted from SM, salvianolic acid B
(Sal B), has been reported to be effective against fibrosis and ischemia-reperfusion
injury, possibly through its anti-lipid peroxidation action, the effect of SM on angiogenesis
remains unclear. It is our interest to investigate the role of SM on the regulation
of the angiogenic process. By using the SVR endothelial cell line as an in vitro system, the effects of Sal B on the gene expression of vascular endothelial growth
factor (VEGF) and its receptors VEGF-R1, VEGF-R2 were evaluated by morphology, differentiation
assay, reverse-transcribed polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot analysis.
The results showed that both the crude extract of SM and the pure compound Sal B had
enhancing effects on cell growth and differentiation. The gene expression of matrix
metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) was up-regulated after Sal B treatment for 2 h, while
VEGF and VEGF-R2 gene expression were up-regulated 40 min after Sal B treatment. We
conclude that the crude extract of SM and Sal B enhance angiogenic processes on SVR
cells through up-regulation of VEGF and VEGF receptors genes.
Key words
Salvia miltiorrhiza
- Lamiaceae - salvianolic acid B - angiogenesis - VEGF - endothelial cells
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Jen-Hwey Chiu, Ph. D. MD
Institute of Traditional Medicine
School of Medicine
National Yang-Ming University
155, Sec. 2, Li-Nong St.
Peitou
Taipei 112
Taiwan
Email: chiujh@mailsrv.ym.edu.tw
Fax: +886-2-2875-7537
