Title:Novel Approaches to Anti-atherosclerotic Therapy: Cell-based Models and Herbal Preparations (Review of Our Own Data)
Volume: 17
Issue: 3
Author(s): Alexander N. Orekhov*, Andrey V. Grechko, Elena B. Romanenko, Dongwei Zhang and Dimitry A. Chistiakov
Affiliation:
- Federal Scientific Clinical Center for Resuscitation and Rehabilitation, 109240 Moscow,Russian Federation
Keywords:
Cholesterol retention modified LDL, atherogenicity, cell-based test models, herbal drugs, anti-atherosclerotic
therapy.
Abstract: Atherosclerosis is a chronic arterial disease characterized by vascular inflammation, accumulation
of lipids in the arterial wall, and formation and growth of atherosclerotic plaques followed
by ischemia. In subclinical atherosclerosis, cholesterol retention in subendothelial cells
leads to induction of local inflammation, generation of foam cells and lesion formation, followed
by a chain of other pathogenic events. Atherosclerotic progression can frequently be fatal, since
plaque rupture may lead to thrombosis and acute events, such as myocardial infarction, stroke and
sudden death. Traditional anti-atherosclerotic therapy is mainly focused on improving the blood
lipid profile and does not target various stages of plaque progression. Obviously, treating the disease
at initial stages is better than beginning treatment at advanced stages and, in that regard, current
atherosclerosis management can be improved. Cholesterol retention is an important component
of atherogenesis that precedes plaque formation. Therapeutic targeting of cholesterol retention
may be beneficial for preventing further atherogenic progression. For this purpose, we suggest
using herbal preparations due to good tolerability and suitability for long-lasting treatment.
We developed test systems based on cultured human intimal aortic cells for rapid screening of potential
anti-atherogenic drugs. With the help of these test systems, we selected several natural substances
with significant anti-atherogenic activity and further use these compounds to prepare herbal
preparations for anti-atherosclerotic therapy. These preparations were clinically tested and
showed good safety and a potent anti-atherogenic potential.
