Effects of arsenic trioxide on E2F- 1 and EMAP-II of smooth muscle cells of human coronary artery in vitro

Abstract

Objective To investigate the apoptotic effects of arsenic trioxide on E2F-1 and EMAP-Ⅱ of hu-man coronary artery smooth muscle cells (HCASMCs). Method HCASMCs proliferated after culturing cells.Cells were divided into 4 groups: control group and arsenic trioxide (4.0μmol/L) 12 h group, 24 h group and 48 h group. Flow cytometry was used for counting number of apoptotic cells, RT-PCR was used for detecting the ex-pression of E2F-1 mRNA and Western blot was employed to get the level of EMAP-Ⅱ. Results Arsenic trioxide inhibited the proliferation of HCASMCs (living cells in 4.0 μmol/L arsenic trioxide were (8.44±0.10)×10~5/mL vs. control (16.44±1.34)×10~5/m (P <0.05), and the 4.0μmol/L arsenic trioxide inhibited proliferation cy-cle via affecting S and G2M phases, while those were not found in control group. E2F-1 mRNA expression was de-creased in 4.0 μmol/L arsenic trioxide group. Western blot test showed EMAP- Ⅱ level was also decreased in 4.0 μmol/L arsenic trioxide group. Conclusions Arsenic trioxide has apoptotic effect on smooth muscle cells of hu-man coronary artery and decrease the expression of E2F-1 mRNA and the level of EMAP- Ⅱ. Key words: Arsenic trioxide; Human coronary artery; Smooth muscle cell; Restenosis