TY - JOUR AB - Caduet, also known as amlodipine besylate and atorvastatin calcium (AM + AT) tablet, can improve cardiac and vascular remodeling in patients with spontaneous hypertension (SH), but the underlying mechanism remains unknown. The present study aimed to explore whether AM + AT improved hypertensive left ventricular and thoracic aortic remodeling by regulating connexin 43 (Cx43) phosphorylation. A total of 32 male spontaneous hypertension model rats (SHR) were randomly divided into four groups: SHR control group, amlodipine‑alone group (SHR‑AM), atorvastatin‑alone (SHR‑AT) and AM + AT group (SHR‑AM + AT); 8 Wistar‑Kyoto (WKY) rats with normal blood pressure were used as the normal control. Drugs were orally administered for 8 weeks; subsequently, body weight, heart rate (HR), left ventricular mass index (LVMI), blood pressure (BP), plasma lipid levels and morphological changes of myocardial tissue in each group were analyzed. The expression of total (T)‑Cx43 and phosphorylated (P)‑Cx43 protein in the left ventricular and thoracic aortic tissues was determined using western blotting and immunofluorescence double labeling. The results revealed that AM + AT significantly decreased LVMI and cardiomyocyte cross‑sectional area compared with SHR‑AM and SHR‑AT group. The western blotting results demonstrated that AM + AT could inhibit the expression of T‑Cx43 protein, but increased the expression of P‑Cx43 in the left ventricular and thoracic aorta. Moreover, immunofluorescence results indicated AM + AT could also decrease the expression T‑Cx43, and increase that of P‑Cx43 in the left ventricular and thoracic aorta compared with AM and AT alone. Therefore, it was concluded that AM + AT may mitigate left ventricular and thoracic aorta remodeling in SH rats by enhancing Cx43 phosphorylation, and the efficacy of AM + AT was superior to that of AM and AT alone. AD - Shaanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Infection and Immunity Diseases, Shaanxi Provincial People's Hospital, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710068, P.R. China Department of Cardiology, Baoji Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Baoji, Shaanxi 721000, P.R. China Department of Cardiac Surgery, Shaanxi Provincial People's Hospital, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710068, P.R. China Department of Cardiology, Shaanxi Provincial People's Hospital, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710068, P.R. China Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine for Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular Diseases, Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Xi'an, Shaanxi 712046, P.R. China Department of Cardiology, Guangshui Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Hubei Province, Guangshui, Hubei 432700, P.R. China AU - Huang,Xiaoyan AU - Yang,Junlu AU - Song,Baoguo AU - Wang,Nana AU - Ma,Meijuan AU - Wang,Haifang AU - Wang,Sha AU - Hao,Shuangping AU - Cheng,Gong DA - 2020/11/01 DO - 10.3892/etm.2020.9207 IS - 5 JO - Exp Ther Med KW - caduet amlodipine atorvastatin connexin 43 phosphorylation left ventricle thoracic aorta spontaneous hypertension PY - 2020 SN - 1792-0981 1792-1015 SP - 80 ST - Caduet enhances connexin 43 phosphorylation in left ventricular and thoracic aorta of SH model rats T2 - Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine TI - Caduet enhances connexin 43 phosphorylation in left ventricular and thoracic aorta of SH model rats UR - https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2020.9207 VL - 20 ER -