The objective of this study was to examine the effect of 7 traditional Korean formulations (7TKFs) on intimalthickening of rat carotid artery injured by balloon catheter in vivo and on the proliferation of human smooth muscle cells(HASMCs) and secretion of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) in vitro. 7TKFs (400 mg/kg) were administered orally for4 weeks from the day of balloon injury in the rats. HASMC proliferation was assessed by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay while enzymatic action of MMP-2 was carried out by gelatin zymography. Among 7TKFs, Samhwang-sasim-tang (SST), Banha-sasim-tang (BST) and Kegi-honghwa-tang (KHT) significantlyreduced the intimal thickening by suppressing HASMC proliferation and MMP-2 expression in both extracellular andintracellular levels. Thus, the results suggest that SST, BST and KHT can be considered as a therapeutic value in theprevention of atherosclerosis because restenosis after PTCA (percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty) is supposedto be ‘accelerated atherosclerosis’.
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Literature Cited