A study of interference of ox-LDL induced apoptosis of human umbilical vein endothelial cells by sodium ferulate in vitro

Objective To investigate the effect of sodium ferulate(SF) on apoptosis of vascular endothelial cells induced by oxidized low density lipoprotein(ox-LDL) in vitro.Methods Human umbilical vein endothelial cells(HUVEC) cultured in vitro were assigned into five groups: the control group,Ox-LDL(50mg/L) group,SF(5μmol/L) group,SF(10μmol/L) group and SF(20μmol/L) group.SF in the said concentration was added to the latter 3 groups,respectively,and they were then cultured for one hour,followed by the addition of ox-LDL(50mg/L).The effect of SF on HUVEC was assessed by MTT,and that on the ox-LDL induced HUVEC apoptosis was assessed with Hochest 33258 nucleus fluorescent staining and flow cytometer.Results A certain concentration of SF may increase the survival rate of HUVEC after the treatment with ox-LDL,thus it protects the HUVEC from injury.SF concentration below 40μmol/L was the optimal concentration in the protection of the cells from injury.With Hochest 33258 staining,the nucleus in ox-LDL group showed a dark blue fluorescence,with the appearance of typical morphological features of apoptosis,such as karyopyknosis and apoptotic body,etc.In SF(20μmol/L) group,the nuclei returned to its normal morphology.Flow cytometry revealed that the apoptosis ratio in low,medium and high concentration of SF groups(25.21%±4.07%,12.45%±2.65% and 10.85%±1.23%,respectively) was obviously lower than that in ox-LDL group(31.14%±4.29%,P0.05),and a dose-dependent relation was observed.Conclusion Sodium ferulate may protect the ox-LDL induced HUVEC from injury and decrease apoptosis of vascular endothelial cells.