The effect of atorvastatin on calcification of vascular smooth muscle cell in rat aorta in vitro

Objective To study the effect of atorvastatin on calcification of vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) in rat aorta in vitro. Methods The VSMC of the rat aorta were cultured by tissue explant in vitro. All samples were divided into 5 groups, which were normal, calcification group (control group) , and atorvastatin 1μmol/L, 5μmol/L and 10μmol/L groups. Before calcification inducing, atorvastatin 1, 5, 10μmol/L groups were individually pre-treated by final concentration of 1,5,10μmol/L atorvastatin for 24 hours. Then, 10 mmol/Lβ-glycerophosphate, 10-7 mmol/L insulin and 50μg/L vitamin C were added in calcification group and in all atorvastatin groups to induce VSMC calcification. All cells were cultured for 14 days. Cell crawling slice was applied to alizarin red S staining to observe VSMC calcification. Colorimetric method was applied to measure the contents of Ca2+, the amount of protein of cell, and the alkaline phophatase (ALP) activity. The ratio of the contents of Ca2+ to the amount of protein of cell was cell calcium deposits. Cell proliferation was measured by tetrazolium salt (MTT) method. Results Compared with the control group, in all atorvastatin groups, the number of calcium nodulus, cell calcium depositions, cell ALP activity and cell proliferation decreased significantly and dose-dependently ( P 0. 01 ) . Conclusions Atorvastatin shows a protective role on calcification of VSMC in rat aorta in vitro.