Epimedium flavonoids counteract the side effects of glucocorticoids on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis
| Autor: | Wei Zhang, Xiantao Tai, Tao Sun, Shijin Xia, Sheilesh Kumar Dewan, Songbai Zheng, Jijun Li, Jianhua Huang, Zi-yin Shen, Junzhen Wu, Bill Kalionis |
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| Rok vydání: | 2013 |
| Předmět: |
medicine.medical_specialty
endocrine system Article Subject medicine.medical_treatment chemistry.chemical_compound Downregulation and upregulation Corticosterone Internal medicine medicine Epimedium biology Adrenal gland business.industry Adrenal cortex Cell growth Growth factor lcsh:Other systems of medicine biology.organism_classification lcsh:RZ201-999 medicine.anatomical_structure Endocrinology Complementary and alternative medicine chemistry business Hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis hormones hormone substitutes and hormone antagonists Research Article |
| Zdroj: | Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine : eCAM Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Vol 2013 (2013) |
| ISSN: | 1741-427X |
| Popis: | Our previous studies demonstrated that the epimedium herb, when simultaneously used with GCs, counteracted suppressive effects of GCs on the HPA axis without adverse influence on the therapeutic action of GCs. Here, total flavones were extracted from the epimedium flavonoids (EFs) and then used to investigate whether EFs provide protective effects on the HPA axis. We found that GCs induced a significant decrease in body weight gain, adrenal gland weight gain, and plasma adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) and corticosterone levels. After treatment with EFs, body weight gain, adrenal gland weight gain, and plasma corticosterone level were significantly restored, whilst plasma ACTH level was partially elevated. EFs were also shown to promote cell proliferation in the outer layer of adrenal cortex and to enhance the migration of newly divided cells toward the inner layer. To elucidate the underlying mechanisms, the mRNA expression of insulin-like growth factor II (IGF-II) was measured, and EFs significantly upregulated IGF-II expression. Our results indicated that EFs counteract the suppression of the HPA axis induced by GCs. This may involve both the ACTH and IGF-II pathways and thereby promote regeneration of the adrenal cortex suggesting a potential clinical application of EFs against the suppressive effects of GCs on the HPA axis. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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