https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsb.2025.11.016
This new article publication from Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B, discusses how Chinese medicine and intermittent fasting integration therapy attenuate diabetic vascular calcification via miR21-5p/Tpm1-mediated osteogenic differentiation of VSMCs.
Vascular calcification (VC) is a marker of substantial vascular damage in patients with diabetes and has been recognized as a predictor of cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality. To date, no effective therapeutic strategy has been formulated for the management of VC. In this study the treatment regimen of the Danlian-Tongmai (DLTM) formula, a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) with anti-diabetic VC (anti-DVC) effects was integrated with intermittent fasting (IF), and established the Chinese medicine and intermittent fasting integration therapy (CMIT). CMIT synergistically enhanced the regulation of calcium-phosphorus homeostasis and vascular repair and demonstrated significantly greater efficacy than DLTM or IF monotherapy in inhibiting calcium deposition and osteogenic differentiation both in vivo and in vitro. Transcriptomic sequencing revealed that the miR21-5p/Tpm1 axis mediated the anti-calcification effect of CMIT. MiR21-5p promoted the overproliferation, migration, and osteogenic differentiation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) by negatively regulating Tpm1, while CMIT inhibited such processes. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that CMIT inhibited the osteogenic differentiation of VSMC and restored its contractile phenotype by inhibiting the activation of the miR21-5p/Tpm1 axis, thus exerting a therapeutic effect on DVC. CMIT may be a promising approach for the treatment of DVC.
Keywords: Vascular calcification, Diabetes vascular complications, Danlian-Tongmai formula, Intermittent fasting, Traditional Chinese medicine, Dietary pattern
Graphical Abstract: available at https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S2211383525007464-ga1_lrg.jpg
Chinese medicine and intermittent fasting integration therapy effectively inhibits VSMC osteogenic differentiation by regulating the miR21-5p/Tpm1 axis, thereby achieving a synergistic anti-diabetic vascular calcification effect.
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The Journal of the Institute of Materia Medica, the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.
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CiteScore: 24.3
Impact Factor: 14.6 (Top 6 journal in the category of Pharmacology and pharmacy)
JIF without self-citation: 13.8
ISSN 2211-3835
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Wenting Wang, Yanfei Liu, Yiwen Li, Qian Xu, Mengmeng Zhu, Jing Cui, Yue Liu, Chinese medicine and intermittent fasting integration therapy attenuate diabetic vascular calcification via miR21-5p/Tpm1-mediated osteogenic differentiation of VSMCs, Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B, Volume 16, Issue 1, 2026, Pages 352-370, ISSN 2211-3835, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsb.2025.11.016