scholarly journals A Chinese Herbal Decoction, Danggui Buxue Tang, Stimulates Proliferation, Differentiation and Gene Expression of Cultured Osteosarcoma Cells: Genomic Approach to Reveal Specific Gene Activation

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roy C. Y. Choi ◽  
Qiu T. Gao ◽  
Anna W. H. Cheung ◽  
Judy T. T. Zhu ◽  
Faye T. C. Lau ◽  
...  

Danggui Buxue Tang (DBT), a Chinese herbal decoction used to treat ailments in women, contains Radix Astragali (Huangqi; RA) and Radix Angelicae Sinensis (Danggui; RAS). When DBT was applied onto cultured MG-63 cells, an increase of cell proliferation and differentiation of MG-63 cell were revealed: both of these effects were significantly higher in DBT than RA or RAS extract. To search for the biological markers that are specifically regulated by DBT, DNA microarray was used to reveal the gene expression profiling of DBT in MG-63 cells as compared to that of RA- or RAS-treated cells. Amongst 883 DBT-regulated genes, 403 of them are specifically regulated by DBT treatment, including CCL-2, CCL-7, CCL-8, and galectin-9. The signaling cascade of this DBT-regulated gene expression was also elucidated in cultured MG-63 cells. The current results reveal the potential usage of this herbal decoction in treating osteoporosis and suggest the uniqueness of Chinese herbal decoction that requires a well-defined formulation. The DBT-regulated genes in the culture could serve as biological responsive markers for quality assurance of the herbal preparation.

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Lv ◽  
Zhimin Zhao ◽  
Yuan Chen ◽  
Qinglan Wang ◽  
Yanyan Tao ◽  
...  

In this study, we investigated the anti-angiogenic effect of the Chinese herbal decoction Danggui Buxue Tang (DBT;Radix AstragaliandRadix Angelicae sinensisin 5 : 1 ratio) in a rat model of liver fibrosis, in order to elucidate its mechanisms of action against liver fibrosis. Liver fibrosis was induced with CCl4and high-fat food for 6 weeks, and the rats were treated with oral doses of DBT (6 g raw herbs/kg/d) and N-Acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC; 0.1 g/kg/d). The results showed that both DBT and NAC attenuated liver fibrosis and neo-angiogenesis. Furthermore, DBT and NAC improved SOD activity but decreased MDA content and 8-OH-dG in fibrotic livers, with DBT being more effective than NAC. DBT decreased the expression of VEGF, Ang1 and TGF-β1 and their signaling mediators, whereas NAC had no effect on VEGF and VEGFR2 expression. Both DBT and NAC reduced HIF-1αgene and protein expression in fibrotic livers, with DBT being more effective. These data clearly demonstrate that the anti-fibrotic properties of DBT are related to its ability to inhibit angiogenesis and its anti-angiogenic mechanisms are associated with improving oxidative stress, regulating the expression and signaling of angiogenic factors, and especially modulating HIF-1αin fibrotic livers.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver Zierau ◽  
Ken Y. Z. Zheng ◽  
Anja Papke ◽  
Tina T. X. Dong ◽  
Karl W. K. Tsim ◽  
...  

Danggui Buxue Tang (DBT), a herbal decoction containing Astragali Radix (AR) and Angelicae Sinensis Radix (ASR), has been used in treating menopausal irregularity in women for more than 800 years in China. Pharmacological results showed that DBT exhibited significant estrogenic propertiesin vitro, which therefore suggested that DBT could activate the nuclear estrogen receptors. Here, we assessed the estrogenic properties of DBT in an ovariectomizedin vivorat model: DBT was applied to the ovariectomized rats for 3 days. The application of DBT did not alter the weight of uterus and liver, as well as the transcript expression of the proliferation markers including the estrogen receptorsαandβ. However, DBT stimulated the transcript expression of the estrogen responsive genes. In addition, the inductive role of DBT on the expression of members of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor family in uterus and liver of ovariectomized rats was confirmed. These responses of DBT however were clearly distinct from the response pattern detectable here for 17β-estradiol. Therefore, DBT exhibited weak, but significant, estrogenic propertiesin vivo; however, some of its activities were independent of the estrogen receptor. Thus, DBT could be an exciting Chinese herbal decoction for an alternative treatment of hormone replacement therapy for women in menopause without subsequent estrogenic side effects.


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