Inhibitory effect of berberine on Ang II-induced apoptosis of human umbilical vein endothelial cells via ROS/JNK signaling pathway and its mechanism / 吉林大学学报(医学版)

ABSTRACT

Objective:To investigate the effect of berberine on the angiotensin II (AngII)-induced apoptosis of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and its mechanism,and to clarify the anti-AS mechanism of berberine.Methods:The HUVECs cultured in vitrowere divided into control group (untreated), Ang? group (treated with 1 μmoL·L-1Ang II for 24 h) and low,medium,and high doses of berberine groups (after pretreated with 1 μmoL·L-1Ang II for 3 h, treated with 25, 50, and 100 μmoL·L-1berberine for 24 h, respectively).The survival rates and the apoptotic rates of cells in each group were detected by MTT method and flow cytometry,the ROS level in each group was detected by ROS kit, and the expression levels of p-JNK, Bcl-2, Bax, and cleaved caspase-3 proteins in each group were detected by Western blotting method. Results:Compared with control group, the survival rate of cells and the Bcl-2 protein expression level in Ang II group were decreased(P<0.05), while the apoptotic rate of cells, the ROS level and the expression levels of p-JNK, Bax, and cleaved caspase-3 proteins were increased(P<0.05); compared with Ang II group, the survival rates of cells and the expression levels of Bax protein in low,medium, and high doses of berberine groups were significantly increased(P<0.05), while the apoptotic rates of cells, the ROS levels and the expression levels of p-JNK, Bax, and cleaved caspase-3 proteins were decreased(P<0.05) in a concentration-dependent manner. Conclusion:Berberine can inhibit the apoptosis of HUVECs induced by Ang?, which may be related to the inhibition of ROS/JNK signaling pathway activation.