Effect Of Moxibustion With Medicinal Cake On Phenotypic Transformation Of Abdominal Aorta Smooth Muscle In Rabbits With Vulnerable Plaque Of Atherosclerosi

Objective: To explore the correlation between the delaying the formation of vulnerable plaque(VAP)and the phenotypic transition of abdominal aortic vascular smooth muscle in rabbits with herbal-cake separated moxibustion,and the possible effect mechanism of herbal-cake separated moxibustion delaying the formation of vulnerable plaque.The expression of ERK1/2 and α-SMA in the abdominal aorta with herbal-cake separated moxibustion on VAP in rabbits was observed.Methods: 58 New Zealand rabbits were randomly divided into blank group of 10 and operation group of 48.The rabbits in the operation group were randomly divided into a model group,a direct moxibustion group,a herbal cake-partitioned moxibustion group,and a western medicine group after operation,with 11 rabbits in each group.High-fat feed,abdominal aortic balloon injury,gene transfection and drug triggering methods were used to establish the rabbits models of abdominal aortic with VAP.Corresponding intervention measures were taken for each group.ELISA method was used to detect the serum total cholesterol(TC),Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C)and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C)of rabbit blood.HE staining was used to observe the pathological morphology of rabbit abdominal aorta.Immunohistochemical method was used to detect the positive expression of extracellular signal-regulated kinase1/2(ERK1/2)and alpha-smooth muscle actin(α-SMA)in the abdominal aorta of rabbits in each group.Results:1.Serum lipid:Compared with the blank group,the serum TC and LDL-C in the model group increased,and HDL-C decreased(P<0.01).compared with the model group,the serum TC and LDL-C decreased,and HDL-C increased in direct moxibustion group,herbal-cake separated moxibustion group,and western medicine group(P<0.05 or P<0.01).there was no difference among the three intervention groups(P>0.05).2.Abdominal aorta morphology:In the model group,the abdominal aorta intima-media was thickened,the plaque structure was disordered,and a large number of foam cells were seen,accompanied by thrombosis.After the intervention,the structure of the abdominal aorta of the rabbits in the direct moxibustion group,the herbal cake-partitioned moxibustion and the western medicine group was clearer than that in the model group,and the lesions were improved.3.The expression of ERK1/2 and α-SMA in the abdominal aorta:Compared with the blank group,the average optical density of ERK1/2 in the model group increased(P<0.01).compared with the model group,the average optical density in the intervention groups decreased(P<0.05).there was no difference among the three groups(P>0.05).Compared with the blank group,the average optical density of α-SMA in the model group decreased(P<0.05).compared with the model group,the average optical density increased in the herbal-cake separated moxibustion group and the western medicine group(P<0.05).There was no difference among the intervention groups(P>0.05).Conclusion:1.herbal-cake separated moxibustion can regulate blood lipid content,delay the formation of vulnerable plaque of VAP model rabbits.2.After the intervention of herbal-cake separated moxibustion,the expression of ERK1/2 in the abdominal aorta of VAP model rabbits was down-regulated,and the expression of α-SMA was up-regulated.The mechanism of herbal-cake separated moxibustion delaying the formation of vulnerable plaques may be related to the inhibition of VSMC phenotypic transition.