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