Atorvastatin Inhibit The Apoptosis Of Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells Induced By High Glucose

Objective To study the effects of atorvastatin on the apoptosis in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (hUVECs) induced by high glucose and to explore its potential molecular mechanism.Methods The hUVECs were cultured in vitro. Apoptosis of HUVEC were observed by acridine orange/ethidium bromide fluorescence staining. The survival rates of hUVECs were detected by MTT assay after hUVECs were incubated with different glucose concentrations (5.6mmol/L,17.6mmol/L,33.3mmol/L)and atorvastatin concentrations ( 0.1μmol/L,1μmol/L,10μmol/L) for 24hours. The early apoptosis rates and the bcl-2/bax protein expression were detected respectively by flow cytometry and western blotting.Results With the increase in glucose concentration, the value of MTT was significantly reduced. the value of MTT in 17.6mmol/L glucose group was higher than the control group(P<0.05)and the value of MTT in 33.3mmol/L glucose group was also higher than the control group(P<0.01)after 48 hours. The early apoptosis rates were gradually increased with the increase in glucose concentrations ( P < 0.01 ) . The 33.3mmol/L glucose group inhibited the expression of bcl-2 protein and increased that of bax protein compared to the control group(P<0.05). 10μmol/L atorvastatin decreased early apoptosis rates(P<0.01) and the expression of bax protein(P<0.05), increases the expression of bcl-2 protein ( P < 0.05 ) induced by 33.3mmol/L glucose.Conclusion High glucose induces apoptosis in human umbilical vein endothelial cells, which is connected with the down regulation of bcl-2 protein and the up regulation of bax protein. Atorvastatin probably inhibit the apoptosis in human umbilical vein endothelial cells induced by high glucose through regulating the expression of bcl-2/bax protein.