scholarly journals Angiotensin II-Induced Apoptosis of Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells was Inhibited by Blueberry Anthocyanin Through Bax- and Caspase 3-Dependent Pathways

2016 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
pp. 3223-3228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jian Du ◽  
Jiyan Leng ◽  
Li Zhang ◽  
Guangxin Bai ◽  
Di Yang ◽  
...  
2008 ◽  
Vol 101 (8) ◽  
pp. 1165-1170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chia-Lun Chao ◽  
Yu-Chi Hou ◽  
Pei-Dawn Lee Chao ◽  
Ching-Sung Weng ◽  
Feng-Ming Ho

Diabetes mellitus is an important risk factor for CVD. A previous study showed that high glucose induced the apoptosis of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) via the sequential activation of reactive oxygen species, Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and caspase-3. The apoptosis cascade could be blocked by ascorbic acid at the micromolar concentration (100 μm). In addition to ascorbic acid, quercetin, the most abundant dietary flavonol, has been recently actively studied in vascular protection effects due to its antioxidant effect at low micromolar concentrations (10–50 μm). Quercetin sulfate/glucuronide, the metabolite of quercetin in blood, however, has been rarely evaluated. In the present study, we investigated the effect of quercetin sulfate/glucuronide on the prevention of high glucose-induced apoptosis of HUVEC. HUVEC were treated with media containing high glucose (33 mm) in the presence or absence of ascorbic acid (100 μm) or quercetin sulfate/glucuronide (100 nm, 300 nm and 1 μm). For the detection of apoptosis, a cell death detection ELISA assay was used. The level of intracellular H2O2 was measured by flow cytometry. JNK and caspase-3 were evaluated by a kinase activity assay and Western blot analysis. The results showed that high glucose-induced apoptosis was inhibited by quercetin sulfate/glucuronide in a dose-dependent manner. The effect of quercetin sulfate/glucuronide on H2O2 quenching, inhibition of JNK and caspase-3 activity at the nanomolar concentration (300 nm) was similar to that of ascorbic acid at the micromolar concentration (100 μm). The findings of the present study may shed light on the pharmacological application of quercetin in CVD.


2008 ◽  
Vol 295 (6) ◽  
pp. H2512-H2521 ◽  
Author(s):  
Satoshi Asada ◽  
Tomosaburo Takahashi ◽  
Koji Isodono ◽  
Atsuo Adachi ◽  
Hiroko Imoto ◽  
...  

Although the modulated expression of Dicer is documented upon neoplastic transformation, little is known of the regulation of Dicer expression by environmental stimuli and its roles in the regulation of cellular functions in primary cells. In this study, we found that Dicer expression was downregulated upon serum withdrawal in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Serum withdrawal induced a time-dependent repression of Dicer expression, which was specifically rescued by vascular endothelial cell growth factor or sphingosine-1-phosphate. When Dicer expression was silenced by short-hairpin RNA against Dicer, the cells were more prone to apoptosis under serum withdrawal, whereas the rate of apoptosis was comparable with control cells in the serum-containing condition. Real-time PCR-based gene expression profiling identified several genes, the expression of which was modulated by Dicer silencing, including adhesion and matrix-related molecules, caspase-3, and nitric oxide synthase 3 (NOS3). Dicer silencing markedly impaired migratory functions without affecting cell adhesion and repressed phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase and proline-rich tyrosine kinase 2 in adherent HUVECs. Dicer knockdown upregulated caspase-3 and downregulated NOS3 expression, and serum withdrawal indeed increased caspase-3 and decreased NOS3 expression. Furthermore, the overexpression of Dicer in HUVECs resulted in a marked reduction in apoptosis upon serum withdrawal and a decreased caspase-3 and increased NOS3 expression. The inhibition of NOS activity by Nω-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester abrogated the effect of Dicer overexpression to rescue the cells from serum withdrawal-induced apoptosis. These results indicated that serum withdrawal decreases Dicer expression, leading to an increased susceptibility to apoptosis through the regulation of caspase-3 and NOS3 expression.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document