Preventive effect of traditional Korean formulations on intimal thickening of rat carotid artery injured by balloon catheter

The objective of this study was to examine the effect of 7 traditional Korean formulations (7TKFs) on intimal thickening 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 for 4 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) significantly reduced the intimal thickening by suppressing HASMC proliferation and MMP-2 expression in both extracellular and intracellular levels. Thus, the results suggest that SST, BST and KHT can be considered as a therapeutic value in the prevention of atherosclerosis because restenosis after PTCA (percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty) is supposed to be ‘accelerated atherosclerosis’.