Affiliation:
1. MOE Joint International Research Laboratory of Animal Health and Food Safety, College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province,
China
2. Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai, China
Abstract
AbstractA brand-new class of interstitial cells, called telocytes, has been detected in the heart. Telocytes can connect and transmit signals to almost all cardiomyocytes; this is highly
interrelated with the occurrence and development of heart diseases. Modern studies have shown that berberine has a therapeutic effect on cardiovascular health. However, berberineʼs mechanism
of action on the cardiovascular system through cardiac telocytes is unclear. Interestingly, 5 µm of berberine remarkably decreased the concentration of intracellular calcium and membrane
depolarization in cultured telocytes, upregulated the expression of CX43 and β-catenin, and downregulated the expressions of TRPV4 and TRPV1. Here, telocytes were identified in the
vascular adventitia and intima, endocardium, myocardium, adventitia, and heart valves. Moreover, telocytes were broadly dispersed around cardiac vessels and interacted directly through gap
junctions and indirectly through extracellular vesicles. Together, cardiac telocytes interact with berberine and then deliver drug information to the heart. Telocytes may be an essential
cellular target for drug therapy of the cardiovascular system.
Funder
grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China
the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of China
Subject
Organic Chemistry,Complementary and alternative medicine,Drug Discovery,Pharmaceutical Science,Pharmacology,Molecular Medicine,Analytical Chemistry