TY - JOUR AU - Lu, Li AU - Qin, Yating AU - Chen, Chen AU - Zhang, Xinxin AU - Xu, Xiangyu AU - Lv, Chao AU - Wan, Xiaoning AU - Ruan, Weibin AU - Guo, Xiaomei PY - 2019 TI - The atheroprotective roles of heart-protecting musk pills against atherosclerosis development in apolipoprotein E-deficient mice JF - Annals of Translational Medicine; Vol 7, No 23 (December 15, 2019): Annals of Translational Medicine Y2 - 2019 KW - N2 - Background: Heart-protecting musk pill (HMP), derived from Chinese herbal medicines, has been found to possess protective roles against atherosclerosis-related cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), however, the anti- atherosclerotic mechanisms of HMP are still unclear. Here, we investigated the effects of HMP on alleviating atherosclerotic lesion severity in mice and explored the molecular mechanisms. Methods: Apolipoprotein E-deficient mice were fed western-type diet supplemented with HMP (25 mg/kg/day) or normal saline gavage for 20 weeks. Then histopathological staining was performed to assess the atheromatous plaque burden. Biochemical kits were used to detect levels of lipid profiles. Moreover, effector factors associated with lipid metabolism in liver and intestinal tissues were investigated by western blot and real-time PCR assays. Levels of signal molecules participating in the mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis pathway were detected by Western blot. Results: We found that HMP notably reduced atherosclerotic lesion size (P Conclusions: Altogether, our study indicates that HMP plays anti-atherosclerotic roles via regulating lipid metabolism and improving vascular intimal injury. UR - https://atm.amegroups.org/article/view/32906