The effects of losartan on the proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells and expression of apoptosis-related genes

Objective:To explore the possible molecular mechanism of losartan on angiocardiopathy,such as hypertension,atheroscleosis,etc.Methods:The proliferative activity of vascular smooth muscle cells(VSMC) was reflected by the MTT absorbance with a rapid and automatic method of MTT microcolorimetry.The expression levels of apoptosis-related genes--bcl-2,bax,and fas in VSMC were quantitatively observed by the methods of immunofluorescent histochemistry and cofocal laser scanning microscopy.Results:Under the action by losartan(10 -5 g·L -1 ),both the MTT absorbance and the average fluorescence of bcl-2 were decreased,whereas the average fluorescence of bax and fas were increased,with statistically significant difference compared with that in the control.Conclusion:Losartan had inhibitory effect on the proliferation of VSMC.Its mechanism involved possibly the modulation of the expression levels of apoptosis-related genes--bcl-2,bax,and fas.