动脉粥样硬化（AS）是心血管疾病的主要发病原因，抑制血管平滑肌细胞（VSMC）的增殖是其防治的关键。目前冠心病的主要治疗方案是介入治疗，但即便是具备该领域里程碑意义的药物洗脱支架（DES）技术，仍无法避免介入术后再狭窄（RS）的高发病率。这成为困扰临床的一道难题。按中医理论，再狭窄属“血瘀症”。在对活血化瘀类中药的前期研究中，我们发现丹参中的迷迭香酸类成分不仅能够抑制血管平滑肌细胞增殖，同时对内皮细胞的生长不会产生抑制作用。这一特性恰恰能够克服现有DES药物的缺点。本研究拟通过植物化学、细胞生物学、体内药效学和药代动力学等方法，进一步对迷迭香酸类成分进行体外活性筛选、体内药效学和药物代谢等研究，揭示其抑制血管平滑肌细胞增殖的作用机理，为其作为新的治疗动脉粥样硬化和术后再狭窄的药物开发奠定基础。

Cardiovascular disease is mainly elicited by atherosclerosis (AS). The pathogenesis of atherosclerosis is primarily vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) proliferation. The dominant effective clinical treatments for atherosclerosis are interventions, especially drug eluting stents (DES), while restenosis (RS) is its most common complication. It’s critical to find solutions for restenosis. In TCM, restenosis is the syndrome of blood stasis. We investigated TCMs on activating blood circulation to dissipate blood stasis, and found that rosmarinic acid congeners from Salvia miltiorrhiza could inhibit VSMC proliferation potently, meanwhile they showed no significant effect on endothelial cell (EC). The clinical widely used DES agents were found to impair the recovery of the endothelium and gave rise to restenosis. Selectively inhibiting VSMC versus EC proliferation means that rosmarinic acid congeners could overcome these shortcomings. We would carry on the investigation by the interdisciplinary approach under the interface of molecular biology, in-vivo pharmacology, phytochemistry, drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics. We would identify and characterize rosmarinic acid congeners as new inhibitors of VSMC proliferation, elucidate their mechanism, warrant further exploitation of rosmarinic acid congeners as possible lead structures for the development of drugs for atherosclerosis and restenosis.