Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Effect of amber powder on endometrial ultrastructure and MAPK pathway in endometriosis model rats

Xiaona Ma¹, Yanhui Wu¹, Bingbing Li², Zheng Wang¹, Xiujuan Zhu¹, Yanfeng Liu² , Jing Jia¹,

¹Third Affliated Hospital of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine; ²Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.

For correspondence:- Yanfeng Liu Email: yangfengliu1970@yahoo.com Tel:+8675643208236

Accepted: 30 August 2019 Published: 30 September 2019

Citation: Ma X, Wu Y, Li B, Wang Z, Zhu X, Liu Y, et al. Effect of amber powder on endometrial ultrastructure and MAPK pathway in endometriosis model rats. Trop J Pharm Res 2019; 18(9):1845-1851 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v18i9.9

© 2019 The authors.
This is an Open Access article that uses a funding model which does not charge readers or their institutions for access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) and the Budapest Open Access Initiative (http://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/read), which permit unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited..

Abstract

Purpose: To explore the therapeutic role of amber powder in endometriosis by investigating its effect on endometrial ultrastructure, ERK1/2, p38MAPK, and NF-κB mRNA pathways and C-SRC/EFR/ERK1/2 proteins.

Methods: Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into blank group, disease model group (untreated), amber powder high-dose group, amber powder medium-dose group, amber powder low-dose group and danazol group. Morphological changes in endometrial cells were studied using transmission electron microscopy. The expression of ERK1/2, p38MAPK, and NF-κB mRNA in endometrial tissues of each group was determined using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Immunohistochemistry was utilized for the measurement of C-SRC/EFR/ERK1/2 pathway protein expression.

Results: The endometriosis rats treated with a high-, medium- and low-dose amber powder showed a decrease in the volume of ectopic lesions, compared with the untreated disease model group. The expressions of ERK1/2, p38MAPK, NF-κB mRNA, and C-SRC/EFR/ERK1/2 protein were higher in the eutopic and ectopic endometrial tissues in untreated disease group than those in normal control group. Moreover, treatment of endometriosis rats with amber powder revealed a reduction in the expressions of ERK1/2, p38MAPK, NF-κB mRNA and C-SRC/EFR/ERK1/2 proteins in eutopic and ectopic endometrium tissues.

Conclusion: Amber powder reduces ectopic lesions and slows down the development of endometriosis, probably via inhibition of MAPK pathway genes in eutopic and ectopic endometrial tissues.

Keywords: Amber powder, Endometriosis, Ultrastructure, MAPK pathway