Protective Effect Of Isorhapontigenin And Related Stilbene Compounds On Ox-LDL Induced Artery Wall Damage And Their Modulating Effect On Oxidative Stress-mediated Intracellular Signaling Transduction

Atherosclerosis (AS) is the principal cause of heart attack, stroke. AS is a disease of multiple etiologies resulting from a series of molecular and cellular changes that begin in the intima of the arterial wall.An elevated plasma level of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is clearly a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. An increase in plasma LDL levels lead to an increased rate of entry of LDL into the intima. Where the LDL can undergo oxidative modification catalyzed by any of the major cell type found in artery, oxidized LDL (Ox-LDL) is the species involved in the formation of foam cells. The cell surface of macrophage exists scavenger receptors that mediate the endocytosis of several forms of oxidized LDL. The uptake of oxidized LDL by the scavenger receptors can, therefore, lead to the accumulation of cholesterol. Massive accumulation of cholesterol and cholesterol esters in macrophages leads to development of them into form cells. Studies on animals have shown that fatty streaks precedes the development of intima lesion, which are composed of layers of macrophages-derived form cells, in turn, developing into more advanced, complex, occlusion lesions called fibrous plaques.Epidemiological studies showed an inverse correlation between red wine consumption and the incidence of cardiovascular diseases. The natural resveratrol (3,4,5 trihydroxystilbene) found in grape wine has been thought to be responsible for cardiovascular benefits associated with wine consumption because resceratrol (Gn2) was shown to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. Isorhapontigenin (Gn1), isolated from the Chinese herb Belamcanda Chinesis, is the natural analog of Gn2. Vam3 and Vam4 are compounds with the structure of stilbene dimmers.