Chitosan Promoting the Growth of Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells and the Expression of Relative Proteins

Objective: To study the effects and mechanisms of chitosan on cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells in vitro. Methods: After human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) had been cultured with chitosan and rapamycin in different concentration for 48 hours,the cell proliferation were evaluated by MTT assay, and c-Myc, Bcl-2, Bax protein expression were detected by immunocytochemistry respectively. Results: With the concentration of chitosan increasing (≥0.01 mg/ml), the number of human umbilical vein endothelial cells increased (P 0.05) and the expression of Bax was decreased. Conclusions: Through lowering the expression of Bax protein, chitosan can inhibit the apoptosis of HUVEC and develop its proliferation effects.