Journal
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PHARMACOLOGY
Volume 690, Issue 1-3, Pages 164-169Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
DOI: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2012.07.009
Keywords
Berberine; AEBP1; Cholesterol efflux; Macrophage foam cell
Categories
Funding
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [81102837]
- Traditional Chinese Medicine Administration of Zhejiang Province [2010ZA085]
- Medical Innovation Project Disciplines of Zhejiang Province [11-CX26]
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The phagocytosis of oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL) by monocyte-derived macrophages and the subsequent differentiation of macrophages into foam cells are the key steps in atherogenesis. Scavenger receptors, such as CD36 and lectin-like low-density lipoprotein receptor 1 (LOX-1), are responsible for the uptake of oxLDL. Adipocyte enhancer-binding protein 1 (AEBP1) regulates many key genes associated with intracellular cholesterol efflux. The present study investigated the function of berberine, a compound isolated from Rhizoma coptidis, on foam cell formation, and explored the possible underlying mechanism. We found that berberine inhibited the oxLDL uptake of macrophages and reduced foam cell formation in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, AEBP1 expression in macrophages increased and decreased after oxLDL and berberine treatments in a dose-dependent manner, respectively. Berberine reduced the expression of scavenger receptors CD36 and LOX-1, but did not affect the expression of CD68 in oxLDL-stimulated macrophages. Overall, berberine reduced foam cell formation by a dual mechanism, which decreased oxLDL internalization via the suppression of CD36 and LOX-1, and increased cholesterol efflux by inhibiting AEBP1 expression in macrophages. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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