Influences of Arsenic Trioxide on Proliferation/Apoptosis and Expression of ICAM-1/VCAM-1 of Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells

Objective: To investigate the effects of arsenic trioxide(As2O3) on the proliferation and apoptosis of endothelial cells and the influences of As2O3 on the expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1(ICAM-1),vascular cell adhesion molecule-1(VCAM-1) in vitro.Methods: Human umbilical vein endothelial cells(HUVEC) were incubated in medium with different concentration of As2O3.The proliferation profile of HUVEC was determined by CCK8 Kit.The apoptosis of HUVEC was detected by microscopy and flow cytometry(FCM).The expression of ICAM-1/VCAM-1 was detected by applying ELISA and Real-time PCR.Results: The apoptosis rate of HUVEC was in a low level valued(0.134±0.03)%,(3.305±0.53)%,(3.748±0.84)%(P0.05)when incubated in medium with 3 μmol·L-1 of As2O3 for 24 h,48 h and 72 h.When the concentration of As2O3 was more than 3 μmol·L-1,the apoptosis rate of HUVEC promoted significantly(P0.01).The outcomes of ELISA showed that,compared with that in control group,the expression of VCAM-1 increased significantly(valued 123.32±3.78 mmol·L-1,P0.01),while the expression of ICAM-1 did not change(P0.05),when incubated in medium with 1.0 μmol·L-1 of As2O3.With the increasing of the concentration of As2O3,the reaction of ICAM-1/VCAM-1 to As2O3 was different.The expression of VCAM-1 mRNA(fold of change) were(1.657±0.287,1.858±0.241,2.321±0.280,3.012±0.235,3.508±0.342)(P0.01) in 1.0,2.0,3.0 4.0 5.0 μmol·L-1 groups,respectively.Conclusion: Arsenic trioxide can promote the apoptosis of HUVEC,increase the expression of VCAM-1/ICAM-1 in a dosage and time dependent manner.