Effects of Huashi Tongbi Formula on Blood Lipid Levels,Vascular Endothelial Cells and Intestinal Flora in Rats with Erectile Dysfunction
Objective To observe the effects of Huashi Tongbi Formula(HTF)on blood lipid levels,endothelial cell function,and gut microbiota in rats with erectile dysfunction(ED).Methods SD rats were randomly divided into blank group,sham operation group,model group,sildenafil group,and HTF low,medium,and high dose groups,with 7 rats in each group.Hyperlipidemia combined with bilateral internal iliac artery ligation were used to establish ED model.After modeling,the sildenafil group received sildenafil(4.5 mg/kg)by gavage,while the HTF group received low,medium,and high doses(3.24,6.48,12.96 g/kg)of HTF by gavage.The other three groups received an equal volume of physiological saline by gavage.After 6 weeks of intervention,the intracavernous pressure(ICP)of the penis and mean carotid artery pressure(MAP)were measured using a multi-channel physiological signal recorder,and the ICP/MAP were calculated,the number of erections in rats was recorded.Serum total cholesterol(TC),high-density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C),and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C)were measured using a fully automated biochemical analyzer.ELISA was used to detect the levels of vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF),endothelin-1(ET-1)in serum,and microplate method was used to detect the level of nitric oxide(NO)in the corpus cavernosum tissue of rats.16 S rDNA sequencing was used to detect the gut microbiota of rats.Results Compared with baseline,the serum LDL-C levels of rats in each dose group of HTF decreased,HDL-C levels increased(P＜0.05),the TC levels of rats in the medium dose group of HTF decreased(P＜0.05).Compared with the blank group,the model group showed a decrease in number of erections,ICP/MAP,serum HDL-C,and NO levels in the corpus cavernosum tissue of the penis,while serum TC,LDL-C,VEGF,and ET-1 levels increased(P＜0.05).Compared with the sham operation group,the model group showed a decrease in number of erections and an increase in serum VEGF and ET-1 levels(P＜0.05).Compared with the model group,the sildenafil group showed a decrease in serum ET-1 levels and an increase in NO levels in the corpus cavernosum tissue of the penis(P＜0.05).The levels of serum LDL-C,VEGF,and ET-1 in rats of various doses of HTF decreased,while the level of HDL-C increased(P＜0.05).The low dose group of HTF had an increase in the level of NO in the corpus cavernosum tissue of the penis,while the medium dose group of HTF had an increase in the number of erections and a decrease in serum TC levels(P＜0.05).Compared with the sildenafil group,the serum LDL-C and VEGF levels of rats in each dose group of HTF decreased,the HDL-C levels of rats in the low and high dose groups of HTF increased,and the ET-1 levels of rats in the low dose group of HTF decreased(P＜0.05).Analysis of gut microbiota shows that HTF can affect the structure of gut microbiota.Compared with the blank group,the abundance of Butyricicoccus,Ruminococcus,Prevotellaceae_UCG-001,and Anaerotruncus increased in the model group,while the abundance of Candidatus_Stoquefichus,Facklamia,Jeotgalicoccus,and Enterococcus decreased(P＜0.05).Compared with the model group,the HTF medium dose group showed an increase in the abundance of Staphylococcus,Faecalibacterium,Jeotgalicoccus,Halomonas,Negativibacillus,Achromobacter,Subdoliguranulus,Lachnospiraceae_UCG-010,Bilophila,and Nosocomicoccus(P＜0.05),while Faecalibacterium,Family_ⅩⅢ_UCG-001,and Lachnospiraceae_UCG-006,Butyricicoccus,unidentified_Ruminococcaceae,Lachnospiraceae_ND3007_group,and Lactococcus decreased(P＜0.05).Conclusions The HTF may improve lipid disorders and vascular endothelial cell function in rats via affecting the abundance and diversity of gut microbiota,thereby to enhance erectile function.
Huashi Tongbi Formulaerectile dysfunctionvascular endothelial cellshyperlipidemialigation of internal iliac arteryintestinal floraChinese herbal compoundintegrative medicine
国家科技期刊平台
NSTL
万方数据
