OBJECTIVETo comparatively analyze the difference in the expression of 54 transcription factors in the hypothalamus using protein chips following the medication of Chinese drugs for Shen-tonification, Herba Epimedii, and Fructus Ligustri lucidi (FL) to aged rats.

METHODSWistar rats, aged 15 months of SPF grade, were randomized into three groups, three males and three females in each group. They were medicated with Herba Epimedii decoction (HED, 0.14 g/kg), Fructus Ligustri lucidi decoction (FLD, 0.12 g/kg), and distilled water, respectively, twice a day for 15 days. The rats were sacrificed at the morning of the 16th day 1 h after medication, and their hypothalamus was taken and made into homogenate under an ice-bath for detecting the expression of transcription factors with chip technique.

RESULTSThe expressions of signal transduction and transcription activation factor-6 (Stat-6) and androgen receptor (AR) were up-regulated, and those of pre-B transcription factor1 (Pbx-1), stat-1 and AP-2 were down-regulated in both HED and FLD treated groups, but these changes occurred mainly in female rats in the former while mainly in males in the latter.

CONCLUSIONSChinese drugs for Shen-tonification could impact the expression of transcription factors in the hypothalamus of aged rats, dominantly on the neuro-endocrine factors responsible for the growth and development. The effects of drugs for tonifying Shen-yang and for tonifying Shen-yin are different, which is probably one of the pharmacological mechanisms of the Shen-tonifying drugs.