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Review
. 2021 Nov 16:8:762673.
doi: 10.3389/fmolb.2021.762673. eCollection 2021.

Atheroprotective Effects and Molecular Mechanism of Berberine

Lu Xing  1 , Xin Zhou  1 , Ai-Hong Li  2 , Hui-Jin Li  1 , Chun-Xia He  1 , Wei Qin  1 , Dong Zhao  1 , Peng-Quan Li  1 , Li Zhu  1 , Hui-Ling Cao  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Atheroprotective Effects and Molecular Mechanism of Berberine

Lu Xing et al. Front Mol Biosci. .

Abstract

Cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Atherosclerosis is the main pathological basis of cardiovascular diseases and it is closely associated with hyperlipidemia, endothelial injury, macrophage-derived foam cells formation, proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), platelet aggregation, and altered gut microbiota. Various symptomatic treatments, that are currently used to inhibit atherosclerosis, need to be administered in long term and their adverse effects cannot be ignored. Berberine (BBR) has beneficial effects on atherosclerosis through regulating multiple aspects of its progression. This review highlights the recent advances in understanding the anti-atherosclerosis mechanism of BBR. BBR alleviated atherosclerosis by attenuation of dyslipidemia, correction of endothelial dysfunction, inhibition of macrophage inflammation and foam cell formation, activation of macrophage autophagy, regulation of the proliferation and migration of VSMCs, attenuation of platelet aggregation, and modulation of gut microbiota. This review would provide a modern scientific perspective to further understanding the molecular mechanism of BBR attenuating atherosclerosis and supply new ideas for atherosclerosis management.

Keywords: atherosclerosis; berberine; cell targets; gut microbiota; molecular mechanism.

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Conflict of interest statement

Authors A-HI and H-LC were employed by the Shaanxi Pharmaceutical Holding Group Co., Ltd. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
The molecular structure of Berberine.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Atheroprotective effect and key molecular mechanism of Berberine (Fang et al., 2018). Berberine attenuated atherosclerosis by regulating dyslipidemia and gut microbiota. Meanwhile, Berberine alleviated atherosclerosis by affecting cellular targets, including ameliorating endothelial injury, inhibiting the formation of foam cells derived from macrophages, regulating the proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells and suppressing platelet aggregation. Annotations: ↓, reduction/down-regulation/inactivation; ↑, induction/up-regulation/activation.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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