Puerarin protects endothelial cells from oxidized low density lipoprotein induced injuries via the suppression of LOX-1 and induction of eNOS
Oxidized low density lipoprotein (oxLDL) induced injury of endothelial cells is considered to be the first step in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. This study aimed to investigate some of the effects and mechanisms of puerarin on oxLDL-induced endothelial injuries. We measured cell
viability, and the release of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), nitric oxide (NO), and interleukin-8 (IL-8) to evaluate the protective effects of puerarin. Intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) were detected using 2′,7′-dichlorofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA). The expression of
lectin-like low-density lipoprotein receptor-1 (LOX-1), endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2), p38MAPK, and protein kinase B (PKB) phosphorylation, nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) nuclear translocation, and inhibitor of κB (IκB) degradation were
detected using quantitative real-time PCR or Western blot. The results showed that oxLDL significantly decreased cell viability, increased LDH and IL-8 release, inhibited NO production, and induced COX-2 expression. Pretreatment with puerarin led to a strong inhibition of these effects. OxLDL
stimulated the expression of LOX-1, the overproduction of ROS, the phosphorylation of p38MAPK, the dephosphorylation of PKB, activation of NF-κB, and the degradation of IκB. These oxLDL-induced effects were suppressed after puerarin pretreatment. These results suggest that puerarin
inhibits oxLDL-induced endothelial cell injuries, at least in part, via inhibition of the LOX-1-mediated p38MAPK–NF-κB inflammatory and the PKB–eNOS signaling pathways.
Keywords: atherosclerosis; athérosclérose; cellules endothéliales; eNOS; endothelial cells; lectin-like low-density lipoprotein receptor-1; puerarin; puerarine; récepteur LOX-1
Document Type: Research Article
Affiliations: 1: Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, 110 Xiangya Road, Changsha, Hunan 410078, China. 2: Qingdao S&S Chemicals Analysing and Testing Co., Ltd., Qingdao 266000, China.
Publication date: 01 January 2014
- Published since 1929, this monthly journal reports new research in the fields of physiology and pharmacology.
- Editorial Board
- Information for Authors
- Submit a Paper
- Subscribe to this Title
- Sign up for journal newsletters
- Ingenta Connect is not responsible for the content or availability of external websites
- Access Key
- Free content
- Partial Free content
- New content
- Open access content
- Partial Open access content
- Subscribed content
- Partial Subscribed content
- Free trial content