Biomechanopharmacology in Evaluation of Herbs of Activating Blood Circulation to Remove Blood Stasis

Herbs of activating blood circulation to remove blood stasis(ABCRBS) are a category of over 10% in the modern Chinese Pharmacopoeia. A new borderline discipline, biomechanopharmacology, is shaping by the efforts of applying biomechanics in pharmacological studies of ABCRBS herbs. Biomechanics is involved in modeling of blood stasis syndrome (BSS) with mechanical force induced injury and model evaluation by shear stress monitoring for blood coagulation. Investigations showed that tetramethylpyrazine (TMP) contained in Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort and diallyl trisulfide (DT) extracted from garlic demonstrated inhibiting characteristics on vWF mediated platelet activation and thrombus formation occurring under high shear rates. The effect of TMP on shear-induced platelet aggregation might be due to inhibition of calcium channel activity since it showed significant inhibition on intracellular level of calcium demonstrated by laser confocal microscope. The combined effects of TMP and shear stress on rat cerebral microvascular endothelial cell (rCMEC) were investigated by various doses of TMP incorporated with different levels of shear stress generated by a rotational coneplate rheometer. The results indicated that apoptosis of rCMECs could be restrained by a combination of medial level of shear stress with a suitable dose of TMP. To study the influences of shear stress, pressure and TMP on angiogenesis of vascular endothelial cell, cultured rCMEC was pretreated in a flow chamber with independent adjustment for levels of shear stress and pressure, and then 3D cultured on Matrigel. The results indicate that combined effects of shear stress, pressure and TMP may influence angiogenesis significantly. We believe that research on interactions among blood shear stress, secretion of endothelial cell, and pharmacodynamics will be an interesting area of biomechanopharmacology. Herbs of ABCRBS and their extracts for protecting endothelial cells to maintain their normal functions are expected.