Effect of NF-κB on proliferation of rat pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells inhibited by simvastatin / 中国当代儿科杂志

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the effects of NF-κB on proliferation of rat pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMC) inhibited by simvastatin.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>PASMC isolated from rats and cultured in vitro were randomly divided into four groups (n=6 each) control, platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) treatment, PDGF+simvastatin treatment, and PDGF+simvastatin+parthenolide (NF-κB inhibitor) treatment. MTT colorimetric assay and flow cytometry were performed to detect cell proliferation and cell cycle distribution. Immunohistochemistry was performed to detect the expression of NF-κB protein. Real-Time PCR was performed to detect NF-κB mRNA expression.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared with the control group, MTT values of PASMC at all time points, cell proportion at the S phase and G2+M phase, NF-κB protein and mRNA expression increased significantly in the PDGF group (P<0.05). With the intervention of simvastatin, the levels of above indexes decreased compared with the PDGF group (P<0.05). With the intervention of simvastatin and parthenolide, the levels of above indexes decreased more obviously, but were not significantly different from those in the simvastatin intervention group.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Simvastatin can inhibit proliferation of PASMC and cell cycle process. NF-κB may play an important role in the inhibitory effect of simvastatin on the proliferation of PASMC.</p>