Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Whether statins influence apoptosis of vascular endothelial cells remains poorly understood.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of simvastatin on the apoptosis of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (hUVECs) induced by high glucose and to explore its potential molecular mechanism.
METHODS: hUVECs were cultured with DMEM and then divided into three groups: blank control, high glucose, high glucose + simvastatin. The survival rates of hUVECs were detected by MTT assay after hUVECs were incubated with 25 mmol/L glucose and 1 μmol/L simvastatin for 24 hours. The early apoptosis rate and P53 protein expression were detected by flow cytometry and western blot analysis, respectively.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The value of MTT was significantly decreased in the high glucose group and high glucose + simvastatin group than in the blank control group (P < 0.01), and the MTT value was significantly decreased in the high glucose group than in the simvastatin group (P < 0.01). P53 protein expression and early apoptosis rate were significantly increased in the blank control group than in the high glucose + simvastatin group (P< 0.01), and P53 protein expression and early apoptosis rate were significantly higher in the high glucose + simvastatin group than in the blank control group (P< 0.01). These results suggest that high glucose promotes the apoptosis of hUVECs by promoting P53 protein expression, while simvastatin inhibits the apoptosis of hUVECs.