The role of radix hedysari polysaccharide on the human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) induced by high glucose

• Published in: European journal of internal medicine 2012-04, Vol.23 (3), p.287-292
• Main Authors: Liu, Jing, Deng, Wenjuan, Fan, Lei, Tian, Limin, Jin, Liying, Jin, Zhisheng, Guo, Qian, Xu, Yanjia, Li, Ning
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Apoptosis; Apoptosis - drug effects; Apoptosis - physiology; Caspase; Caspase 3 - genetics; Caspase 3 - metabolism; Cytoprotection - drug effects; Drug Interactions; Drugs, Chinese Herbal - pharmacology; Endothelial cells; Endothelial Cells - cytology; Endothelial Cells - drug effects; Endothelial Cells - metabolism; Glucose - toxicity; Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells; Humans; Internal Medicine; JNK; JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases - metabolism; Radix hedysari polysaccharide; Reactive Oxygen Species - metabolism; RNA, Messenger - metabolism
• ISSN: 0953-6205; 1879-0828
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ejim.2011.10.006

Abstract Background Diabetes mellitus can cause a wide variety of vascular complications and it is one of the major risk factors for cardiovascular diseases (CVD). High glucose can induce vascular endothelial cell apoptosis. In this study, we investigated the effect of radix hedysari polysaccharide (HPS) on the depression of apoptosis of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) induced by high glucose. Methods HUVECs were treated with media containing 30 mM glucose in the presence or absence of vitamin C or HPS. The level of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and apoptosis of HUVECs was measured with flow cytometry. Expression of c-Jun NH2 -terminal kinase (JNK) and caspase-3 were testified by real-time quantitative RT-PCR and immunofluorescence. Results High glucose was capable of eliciting the overexpression of JNK during the treatment procedure. Moreover, we found that the caspase-3 became overexpressed in apoptosis induced by high glucose; HPS could inhibit apoptosis under high glucose and suppress the generation of ROS and the overexpression of JNK and caspase-3. The effect of HPS on ROS quenching, inhibition of JNK and caspase-3 overexpression at the concentration of 100 μg/ml was similar to that of vitamin C at the concentration of 100 μM. Conclusion The findings of the present study may suggest that HPS play a protection role on HUVECs against apoptosis induced by high glucose.