OBJECTIVE: To further elucidate the mechanism underlying the anti-atherosclerotic effect of Dingxin recipe (DXR).METHODS: Fifty 6-week-old male ApoE-/-mice were randomly divided into the following groups:model,simvastatin (5 mg· kg-1· d-1),DXR low-dose (9.30 g· kg-1 ·d-1),DXR middle-dose (18.59 g· kg-1·d-1) and DXR high-dose (37.18 g· kg-1·d-1) (n =10).Ten male C57BL/6J mice were used as the control group.All ApoE-/-mice were fed a high-fat diet (HFD) and the control mice received a common diet.After HFD for 12 weeks,the mice were treated with DXR or simvastatin for another 12 weeks.The expression of inflammatory cytokines and visfatin was determined in serum and atherosclerotic lesions by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.Visfatin expression was also assessed in aortic atherosclerotic plaques.Cultured vessel endothelial cells (VECs) were pretreated with DXR sera prior to visfatin.The effects of DXR were analyzed to elucidate its protective mechanism against visfatin-induced inflammation in VECs.RESULTS: DXR regulated blood lipids and reduced tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α),interleukin-6 (IL-6),intercellular adhesion molecules-1 (ICAM-1),vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) and visfatin expression in ApoE-/-mice,particularly at the higher doses.The areas of atherosclerotic lesions in the DXR groups were significantly smaller than those in the model group.DXR alleviated visfatin-induced VEC injury via downregulation of TNF-α,IL-6,ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 through mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways.CONCLUSION: DXR alleviated atherosclerosis injury via downregulation of visfatin expression and inhibition of the visfatin-induced inflammatory response in VECs.