Berberine attenuates atherosclerotic lesions and hepatic steatosis in ApoE^-/- mice by down-regulating PCSK9 via ERK1/2 pathway.

ABSTRACT:

Background

It has been demonstrated that berberine (BBR), a kind of alkaloid derived from Chinese herbal medicine, has multiple pharmacological effects on human's diseases including anti-atherosclerosis action. However, although the previous studies showed that the beneficial impact of BBR on atherosclerosis might be associated with proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9), the exact underlying mechanism are not fully determined. The present study aimed to investigate potential mechanisms of anti-atherosclerosis by BBR using ApoE^-/- mice.

Methods

The eight-week mice were divided into five groups: group 1 (wild type C57BL/6J mice with normal diet), group 2 (ApoE^-/- mice with normal diet), group 3 [ApoE^-/- mice with high-fat diet (

SUBMITTER: Ma CY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8576642 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature