Objective

2

To explore the possible mechanism of herbal cake-separated moxibustion in stabilizing the vulnerable plaque of atherosclerosis （AS）.

Methods

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Fifty New Zealand rabbits were randomly divided into blank group （n=8）， model group （n=9）， direct moxibustion group （n=9）， herbal cake-separated moxibustion group （n=7）， atorvastatin group （n=9） and inhibitor group （n=8）. The AS vulnerable plaque model was established in all groups except for the blank group by high-fat feeding， balloon injury of abdominal aorta， gene transfection， and trigger plaque rupture. The blank group and model group were not operated. The atorvastatin group was fed with atorvastatin calcium tablets 1.96 mg/（kg·d）， and the inhibitor group was injected with fasudil hydrochloride 10 mg/（kg·d） along the ear edge veins. Direct moxibustion group and herbal cake-separated moxibustion group used moxibustion either directly on the acupoints or with a herbal cake； the two acupoints groups， Juque （CV14）， bilateral Tianshu （ST25） and Fenglong （ST40） as group 1， or bilateral Xinshu （BL15）， Ganshu （BL18） and Pishu （BL20） as group 2， should be used alternatively once daily， three moxa cones for each acupoint； the treatement course of all the groups lasted for 8 weeks. After 13 weeks， the serum total cholesterol （TC）， triglycerrdes （TG）， low-density lipoprotein （LDL） and high-density lipoprotein （HDL） were detected by the ELISA method， and the HDL/LDL was calculated； The pathological changes of vulnerable plaque and the aortic intima thickness， intima-media thickness （IMT） were observed through HE staining； immunohistochemical method was used to observe the antigen activity of Ras homolog gene family， member A （RhoA）， Rho-associated coiled-coil kinase （Rock）， Toll-like receptor 4 （TLR4）， and nuclear factor kappa B （NF-κB） in abdominal aorta.

Results

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Compared to the blank group， the model group had significantly increased serum content of TC， TG and LDL， decreased HDL and HDL/LDL， increased intima thickness and IMT， as well as the increased grayscale value of RhoA， RocK， TLR4 and NF-κB （

P

＜0.01）. Compared to the model group， the direct moxibustion group， the herbal cake-separated moxibustion group， and the atorvastatin group had significantly lower level of TC， TG， and LDL， higher HDL and HDL/LDL， and lower aortic intima thickness， IMT， and the grayscale value of RhoA， RocK， TLR4 and NF-κB （

P

＜0.05， or

P

＜0.01）. The grayscale value of NF-κB in the herbal cake-separated moxibustion group and the atorvastatin group were significantly reduced as compared to that in direct moxibustion group （

P

＜0.05）.

Conclusion

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Herbal cake-separated moxibustion may downregulate the expression of TLR4 and NF-κB by inhibiting the RhoA/RocK signaling pathway， so as to protect the function of vascular endothelial， and to stabilize AS vulnerable to plaque.