Open Access

Shuxuetong injection simultaneously ameliorates dexamethasone‑driven vascular calcification and osteoporosis

  • Authors:
    • Zhe Xu
    • Xiaoguang Liu
    • Yanqing Li
    • Hongliang Gao
    • Tao He
    • Chunlei Zhang
    • Wei Hao
    • Xu Teng
  • View Affiliations

  • Published online on: January 8, 2021     https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2021.9630
  • Article Number: 197
  • Copyright: © Xu et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

Osteoporosis (OP) and vascular calcification (VC) share a number of common risk factors, pathophysiological mechanisms and etiology, which are known as bone‑vascular axis. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of Shuxuetong (SXT) injection on VC and osteoporosis. A rat model of VC and osteoporosis was induced by dexamethasone (DEX; 1 mg/kg/day for 4 weeks, intramuscularly). Simultaneously, 0.6 ml/kg/day SXT was intraperitoneally injected. Compared with control rats, DEX induced significantly more VC and OP, as determined by increased calcium deposition and alkaline phosphatase activity in the aorta, disturbed structure, decreased levels of cortical bone thickness and trabecular bone area, and increased apoptosis in the bone. SXT injection ameliorated DEX‑induced VC and osteoporosis; furthermore, the osteoblastic differentiation of vascular smooth muscle cells and the activation of endoplasmic reticulum stress in the DEX group was also prevented by SXT injection. Compared with control rats, protein expression levels of sclerostin, a crucial crosslink of the bone‑vascular axis, were significantly increased in the aorta and bone of rats with DEX, which was also attenuated by SXT injection. Thus, the present study suggested that SXT injection could ameliorate both VC and OP, and may be mediated by the regulation of sclerostin. The present study may provide the basis a novel strategy for the prevention and treatment of VC and OP, which emerge as side‑effects of glucocorticoids.
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March-2021
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Copy and paste a formatted citation
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Spandidos Publications style
Xu Z, Liu X, Li Y, Gao H, He T, Zhang C, Hao W and Teng X: Shuxuetong injection simultaneously ameliorates dexamethasone‑driven vascular calcification and osteoporosis. Exp Ther Med 21: 197, 2021
APA
Xu, Z., Liu, X., Li, Y., Gao, H., He, T., Zhang, C. ... Teng, X. (2021). Shuxuetong injection simultaneously ameliorates dexamethasone‑driven vascular calcification and osteoporosis. Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine, 21, 197. https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2021.9630
MLA
Xu, Z., Liu, X., Li, Y., Gao, H., He, T., Zhang, C., Hao, W., Teng, X."Shuxuetong injection simultaneously ameliorates dexamethasone‑driven vascular calcification and osteoporosis". Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine 21.3 (2021): 197.
Chicago
Xu, Z., Liu, X., Li, Y., Gao, H., He, T., Zhang, C., Hao, W., Teng, X."Shuxuetong injection simultaneously ameliorates dexamethasone‑driven vascular calcification and osteoporosis". Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine 21, no. 3 (2021): 197. https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2021.9630