Uric Acid-induced CRP Expression Associated With Oxidative Stress In Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells

Objective: To explore the effects of uric acid (UA) on C-reactive protein(CRP) expression and study on the mechanism of oxidative stress in humanumbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs).Methods: Different concentrations of UA (0mg/dl, 4mg/dl, 8mg/dl,12mg/dl, 16mg/dl) were incubated 12h with HUVECs, and HUVECs werestimulated with 12mg/dl UA at different time (6h, 12h, 24h, 48h). CRPmRNA and protein expression were determined by real-time quantitativepolymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and Western blot, respectively; Theeffects of uric acid on the intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS)production in HUVECs were determined by 2′, 7′-dichlorofluorescin diacetate(DCFH-DA) fluorescent probing; The effects of N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) onUA-induced the levels of ROS, mRNA and protein of CRP in HUVECs wereobserved.Results: The results showed that UA significantly increased mRNA andprotein expression of CRP in HUVECs in time- and concentration-dependentways. HUVECs were stimulated with 12mg/dl UA at 6h, mRNA and proteinlevels of CRP significantly higher than control level (p<0.05), reached a peakat 12h (p<0.01). N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) reduced UA-induced the levels ofROS (p<0.05), mRNA and protein of CRP in HUVECs compared with12mg/dl UA (p<0.01).Conclusion: Uric acid significantly increased mRNA and proteinexpression of CRP in HUVECs in time- and concentration-dependent ways. Its mechanism may be associated with UA-induced the levels of ROS inendothelial cells, suggesting that uric acid mediated oxidative stress andinflammation may be involved in the injury of endothelial cells.