Kaempferol alleviates ox-LDL-induced apoptosis by up-regulation of autophagy via inhibiting PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway in human endothelial cells.
Oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) has been reported to induce apoptosis of endothelial cells (ECs) and contribute to the progression of atherosclerosis. Kaempferol has been shown to possess antiatherosclerotic effect. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of kaempferol on ox-LDL-induced apoptosis of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and its possible molecular basis. The results showed that kaempferol alleviated ox-LDL-induced apoptosis. Kaempferol increased the ratio of LC3-II/I and beclin-1 level in ox-LDL-induced HUVECs. Moreover, the expression of p-Akt and p-mTOR was down-regulated after treatment with kaempferol in ox-LDL-treated HUVECs, which is similar to the effect of PI3K inhibitor (LY294002) or mTOR inhibitor [rapamycin (RAP)]. Besides, autophagy induced by kaempferol was enhanced by LY294002 or RAP, while kaempferol-induced autophagy was attenuated with insulin treatment, the activator of PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway. Furthermore, insulin also abated the effect of kaempferol on cell viability and apoptosis in ox-LDL-induced HUVECs. The results indicated that kaempferol alleviated ox-LDL-induced cell apoptosis by up-regulation of autophagy via inhibiting PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway in human ECs.
['Che|Jianbo|J|', 'Liang|Bing|B|', 'Zhang|Yuan|Y|', 'Wang|Yi|Y|', 'Tang|Jianyu|J|', 'Shi|Gongning|G|']
D017209:Apoptosis D050197:Atherosclerosis D001343:Autophagy D002478:Cells, Cultured D042783:Endothelial Cells D061307:Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells D006801:Humans D044949:Kaempferols D008077:Lipoproteins, LDL D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt D015398:Signal Transduction D058570:TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases D015854:Up-Regulation
Kaempferol Apoptosis Autophagy PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway Atherosclerosis