| Objective To study the mechanism of the effect of Wen-Shen-Jian-Pi (WSJP) Prescription on the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis (OP) by tracking the changes of hypoxia inducible factor-1α(HIF-1α). Methods Thirty male rats were randomly divided into normal group, model group and traditional Chinese medicine group, with 10 rats in each group.The rats in model group with hydrocortisone injection and senna leaf gavage were suspended by their tails and fed improper diets to construct the OP rat model. The Chinese medicine group was gavaged at the same time for 8 weeks. Bone mineral density (BMD) was detected by dual-energy X-ray. The serum alkaline phosphatase(ALP) and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase(TRACP) were determined with enzyme-related immunosorbent assay(ELISA). Immunofluorescence to detect CD31 and EMCN in bone tissues, as well as PT-PCR to detect CD31, EMCN and HIF-1α mRNA in the kidney, bone, and intestinal tissues. Meanwhile, the expression levels of protein of HIF-1α in the kidney, bone, and intestinal tissues were checked by Western blot. Results Compared with the normal group, the BMD of rats in the model group decreased, the content of ALP and TRACP was increased , and the mRNA expression levels of CD31 and EMCN in kidney, bone, and intestinal tissues decreased. Furthermore, the model group rats exhibited increased HIF-1α mRNA and protein expression levels in kidney and bone tissue, increased HIF-1α mRNA expression levels in intestinal tissue, but decreased protein expression levels in intestinal tissue. Compared with the model group, the traditional Chinese medicine group showed an increase in BMD and a decrease in ALP and TRACP level in rats. However, the decreasing level of ALP was not significant. On the other hand, the expression levels of CD31 and EMCN proteins in kidney and bone tissues were found to be increased. Moreover, the traditional Chinese medicine group showed a decrease in HIF-1α expression levels in kidney and bone tissue. In intestinal tissue, the HIF-1α mRNA expression levels decreased, but the protein expression levels increased. Conclusion The animal model of spleen-kidney-yang deficiency osteoporosis was established successfully. Besides, WSJP Prescription is able to treat osteoporosis by boosting H-type angiogenesis, adjusting the expression levels of HIF-1α and NOTCH1 in the kidney and bone tissues. This mechanism may be closely related to the regulation of the H-type angiogenesis through HIF-1α pathway. |