Apoptosis induced by simvastatin in rat vascular smooth muscle cells through calpain and caspase-3-dependent pathways
- VernacularTitle:钙依赖中性蛋白酶和半胱天冬酶-3在辛伐他汀诱导大鼠血管平滑肌细胞凋亡中的作用
- Author:
Gang CHENG
;
Geng XU
;
Jiang SHAN
;
Jinyu HUANG
;
Hua ZHOU
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Apoptosis;
Calcium;
Muscle,smooth,vascular;
Simvastatin
- From:
Chinese Journal of Pathophysiology
1999;0(09):-
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
AIM: Hydroxymethylglutaryl CoA (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors, such as simvastatin, have been shown to reduce atherosclerotic cardiovascular morbidity and mortality by mechanisms unrelated to its lipid-lowering effect. Several studies have shown that simvastatin induces apoptosis in a varieties of cell lines including vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC). The aim of this study was to investigate the signal pathways involved in apoptosis induced by simvastatin. METHODS: Cultured VSMC were treated with simvastatin. Calpain activity was determined by measuring Ca 2+ ionophore-specific calpain substrate (suc-LLVY-AMC), caspase-3 activation was detected by Western blot, and apoptotic changes were distinguished by annexin Ⅴ binding and DNA laddering. RESULTS: After incubated with 30 ?mol/L simvastatin for 8 h, calpain activity had a marked increase ( P
