Chinese herbal medicine Yougui Pill reduces exogenous glucocorticoid-induced apoptosis in anterior pituitary cells.

Long-term glucocorticoid use may result in sustained suppression of one or more secreted components from the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis, and often results in apoptosis. Yougui Pill (YGP), a 10-component traditional Chinese herbal medicine, has been shown to be clinically effective for glucocorticoid-induced suppression of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis. However, the pharmacological and molecular mechanisms remain unclear. We hypothesized that YGP would exert an anti-apoptosis effect on dexamethasone-treated anterior pituitary cells. In vivo experiments showed that YGP significantly reduced the number of apoptotic cells, down-regulated mRNA expression of cytochrome c, caspase-3, and caspase-9, and up-regulated mRNA expression of Bcl-2. These findings suggest that YGP reduced glucocorticoid-induced apoptosis in rat anterior pituitary cells by regulating the mitochondria-mediated apoptosis pathway.