Effect of fibulin-5 on aldosterone-induced apoptosis in human ascending aortic smooth muscle cells

Yongji Yan; Xujie Liu; Xuanchen Li; Xuan Zhou; Chaozhi Yang; Jintao Tian; Jun Pu; Xiaoqun Niu

doi:10.3892/etm.2021.10328

Effect of fibulin-5 on aldosterone-induced apoptosis in human ascending aortic smooth muscle cells

Exp Ther Med. 2021 Aug;22(2):896. doi: 10.3892/etm.2021.10328. Epub 2021 Jun 23.

Authors

Yongji Yan¹, Xujie Liu², Xuanchen Li², Xuan Zhou², Chaozhi Yang², Jintao Tian², Jun Pu^{2

3}, Xiaoqun Niu³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Urology, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing 100700, P.R. China.
² Department of Neurosurgery, Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan 650101, P.R. China.
³ Department of Pneumology, Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan 650101, P.R. China.

Abstract

The aim of the current study was to investigate the effect of aldosterone on apoptosis in human aortic smooth muscle cells (HA-VSMC) and to determine the role of fibulin-5 in the aldosterone-induced apoptosis of HA-VSMC cells. Through the construction of a fibulin-5 eukaryotic overexpression vector and a short hairpin RNA interference plasmid, fibulin-5 was overexpressed and silenced, respectively. The role of fibulin-5 in the aldosterone-induced apoptosis of HA-VSMC was subsequently determined. The overexpression of fibulin-5 inhibited the apoptosis of cells, particularly at low concentrations of aldosterone; a smaller effect on apoptosis was induced by high concentrations of aldosterone. fibulin-5 knockdown promoted the apoptosis of cells induced by high concentrations of aldosterone but had a smaller effect on the apoptosis of cells induced by low concentrations of aldosterone. Therefore, the results of the current study indicate that fibulin-5 inhibits the aldosterone-induced apoptosis of HA-VSMC cells and that this effect may be altered by changing the aldosterone concentration.

Keywords: aldosterone; apoptosis; fibulin-5; human aortic smooth muscle cells.

Grants and funding

Funding: The current study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 81360126) and Joint Special Fund of Kunming Medical University (grant no. 2013FB163).