HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 292/5/H2131    most recent 01027.2006v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (1) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Kim, D. D. Articles by Durán, W. N. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Kim, D. D. Articles by Durán, W. N.

Endothelial nitric oxide synthase is a molecular vascular target for the Chinese herb Danshen in hypertension

Program in Vascular Biology, Department of Pharmacology and Physiology and Department of Surgery, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey

Submitted 19 September 2006 ; accepted in final form 12 December 2006

Danshen, a Chinese herb, reduces hypertension in Oriental medicine. We hypothesized that Danshen acts partially through endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) signaling mechanisms. We tested the hypothesis using tanshinone II_A, an active ingredient of Danshen, and the two-kidney, one-clip renovascular hypertension model in hamsters. Oral tanshinone (50 µg/100 g body wt) reduced mean arterial pressure (MAP) from 161.2 ± 6.9 to 130.0 ± 7.8 mmHg (mean ± SE; P < 0.05) in hypertensive hamsters. MAP in sham-operated hamsters was 114.3 ± 9.2 mmHg. Topical tanshinone at 1 µg/ml and 5 µg/ml increased normalized arteriolar diameter from 1.00 to 1.25 ± 0.08 and 1.57 ± 0.11, respectively, and increased periarteriolar nitric oxide concentration from 87.1 ± 11.3 to 146.9 ± 23.1 nM (P < 0.05) at 5 µg/ml in hamster cheek pouch. N^G-monomethyl-L-arginine inhibited tanshinone-induced vasodilation. Hypertension reduced eNOS protein relative to sham-operated control. Tanshinone prevented the hypertension-induced reduction of eNOS and increased eNOS expression to levels higher than sham-operated control in hamster cheek pouch. Topical tanshinone increased normalized arteriolar diameter from 1.0 to 1.47 ± 0.08 in the cremaster muscle of control mice and to 1.12 ± 0.13 in cremasters of eNOS knockout mice. In ECV-304 cells transfected with eNOS-green fluorescent protein, tanshinone increased eNOS protein expression 1.35 ± 0.05- and 1.85 ± 0.07-fold above control after 5-min and 1-h application, respectively. Tanshinone also increased eNOS phosphorylation 1.19 ± 0.07- and 1.72 ± 0.20-fold relative to control after 5-min and 1-h application. Our data provide a basis to understand the action of a Chinese herb used in alternative medicine. We conclude that eNOS stimulation is one mechanism by which tanshinone induces vasodilation and reduces blood pressure.

tanshinone II_A; Radix Salvia miltiorrhizae; complementary and alternative medicine

This article has been cited by other articles:

				N. Sayed, D. D. Kim, X. Fioramonti, T. Iwahashi, W. N. Duran, and A. Beuve Nitroglycerin-Induced S-nitrosylation and Desensitization of Soluble Guanylyl Cyclase Contribute to Nitrate Tolerance Circ. Res., September 12, 2008; 103(6): 606 - 614. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]