Effects and mechanism of artesunate on the cell proliferation and apoptosis in human embryonic lung fibroblast cell line HFL-I

Objective To investigate the antifibrotic action and mechanism of artesunate furtherly.Methods Human embryonic lung fibroblasts(HELF) cell lines HFL-I were cultured to log phase in vitro and divided into 4 observed groups and control group,the former 4 groups were treated with artesunate at the mass concentration of 4,8,16,32 mg/L,the control group were given equivalent DMEM.The cell proliferation activity was determined by CCK-8 assay,the cell cycle and apoptosis ratio were detected by flow cytometry(FCM),the expression of Survivin mRNA was detected by RT-PCR.Results Compared with the control group,percentage of G0+G1 stage cells and the apoptosis ratio in observed groups increased significantly,A value and the expression of Survivin mRNA decreased significantly,and remarkable differences were also seen among observed groups(P0.05).Conclusion Artesunate can resist pulmonary fibrosis,and probable mechanism relate with proliferation inhibition and apoptosis induction of HFL-I through downregulating expression of Survivin mRNA.