ArticleAnnals of translational medicine2021
Artesunate attenuates foam cell formation by enhancing cholesterol efflux.
Article in Annals of translational medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 8 citations in OpenAlex.
- Artesunate in Ferroptosis and Cuproptosis Regulation: Context-Dependent Mechanisms, Interplay, and Therapeutic Implications.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- From ancient herb to modern miracle: an in-depth analysis of the cardioprotective effects of artemisinin and its derivatives.Journal of geriatric cardiology : JGC · 2026Article
- From malaria fighter to diabetes guardian: the emerging role of artesunate in treating diabetes and diabetic complications.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Review
- Artemisinin and its derivatives: all-rounders that may prevent the progression from lung injury to lung cancer.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Review
- Effect ofPreventive nutrition and food science · 2024Article
- Artesunate targets cellular metabolism to regulate the Th17/Treg cell balance.Inflammation research : official journal of the European Histamine Research Society ... [et al.] · 2023Review
- Subclinical Vitamin C Plasma Levels Associated with Increased Risk of CAD Diagnosis via Inflammation: Results from the NHANES 2003-2006 Surveys.Nutrients · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAtherosclerosis is the main cause of many cardiovascular diseases and the second leading cause of death in elderly people. The formation of intimal macrophage-derived foam cells is a major feature of early atherosclerotic lesions. Little is known about the effects of artesunate (ART) on macrophage-derived foam cell formation.
methodsOil red O staining was employed to detect foam cell formation; colorimetric analysis was employed for cholesterol measurement; quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and western blot analysis were employed to assess messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein expression, respectively; enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) analyses were used to observe interleukin 6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) release; and 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assays were used to examine cell viability.
resultsIt was revealed that ART attenuated oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL)-induced foam cell formation from THP-1-derived macrophages by decreasing cholesterol accumulation, and the effect might have occurred via enhanced cholesterol efflux. Additionally, ART decreased toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) expression, increased adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) and ATP-binding cassette transporter G1 (ABCG1) expression, and reduced the secretion of IL-6 and TNF-α.
conclusionsThis study showed that ART attenuated the ox-LDL-induced formation of foam cells from THP-1-derived macrophages by increasing ABCA1 and ABCG1 expression via inhibiting TLR4 expression and reducing TNF-α and IL-6 secretion from macrophages induced by ox-LDL, which ultimately decreased the accumulation of cholesterol. It is worthwhile further investigate ART as a potential drug for the treatment of atherosclerosis.
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