• Archives of Pharmacal Research
• /
• v.29 no.1
• /
• pp.1-15
• /
• 2006

Vascular endothelial cell injury or dysfunction has been implicated in the onset and' progression of cardiovascular diseases including atherosclerosis. A number of previous studies have demonstrated that the pro-oxidative and pro-inflammatory pathways within vascular endothelium play an important role in the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis, Recent evidence has provided compelling evidence to indicate that interleukin-4 (IL-4) can induce proc inflammatory environment via oxidative stress-mediated up-regulation of inflammatory mediators such as cytokine, chemokine, and adhesion molecules in vascular endothelial cells. In addition, apoptotic cell death within vascular endothelium has been hypothesized to be involved in the development of atherosclerosis. Emerging evidence has demonstrated that IL-4 can induce apoptosis of human vascular endothelial cells through the caspase-3-dependent pathway, suggesting that IL-4 can increase endothelial cell turnover by accelerated apoptosis, the event which may cause the dysfunction of the vascular endothelium. These studies will have a high probability of revealing new directions that lead to the development of clinical strategies toward the prevention and/or treatment for individuals with inflammatory vascular diseases including atherosclerosis.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
• /
• v.35 no.2
• /
• pp.66-73
• /
• 2009

Tumor angiogenesis is a process leading to formation of blood vessels within tumors and is crucial for maintaining a supply of oxygen and nutrients to support tumor growth and metastasis. Vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) plays a key role in tumor angiogenesis including induction of endothelial cell proliferation, migration, survival and capillary tube formation. VEGF binds to two distinct receptors on endothelial cells. VEGFR-2 is considered to be the dominant signaling receptor for endothelial cell permeability, proliferation, and differentiation. Bevacizumab(Avastin, Genetech, USA) is a monoclonal antibody against vascular endothelial growth factor. It is used in the treatment of cancer, where it inhibits tumor growth by blocking the formation of new blood vessels. The goal of this study is to identify the anti-tumor effect of Bevacizumab(Avastin) for oral squamous cell carcinoma cell lines. Human squamous cell carcinoma cell line(HN4) was used in this study. We examined the sensitivity of HN4 cell line to Bevacizumab(Avastin) by using in vitro proliferation assays. The results were as follows. 1. In the result of MTT assay according to concentration of Bevacizumab(Avastin), antiproliferative effect for oral squamous cell carcinoma cell lines was observed. 2. The growth curve of cell line showed the gradual growth inhibition of oral squamous cell carcinoma cell lines after exposure of Bevacizumab(Avastin). 3. In the apoptotic index, groups inoculated Bevacizumab(Avastin) were higher than control groups. 4. In condition of serum starvation, VEGFR-2 did not show any detectable autophosphorylation, whereas the addition of VEGF activated the receptor. Suppression of phosphorylated VEGFR-2 and phosphorylated MAPK was observed following treatment with Bevacizumab(Avastin) in a dose-dependent manner. 5. In TEM view, dispersed nuclear membrane, scattered many cytoplasmic vacuoles and localized chromosomal margination after Bevacizumab(Avastin) treatment were observed. These findings suggest that Bevacizumab(Avastin) has the potential to inhibit MAPK pathway in proliferation of oral squamous cell carcinoma cell lines via inhibition of VEGF-dependent tumor growth.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
• /
• v.33 no.1
• /
• pp.5-12
• /
• 2006

Protein tyrosine kinase(PTK), protein kinase C(PKC), oxidase, as a mediator, take a significant role in signal transduction pathway of angiogenesis. The authors utilized the inhibitors, targeting the formation of three co-enzyme in signal transduction pathway in order to quantify the suppression of abnormal vascular endothelial cell proliferation induced by DMH, to compare the level suppression in each up-regulated growth factors, CTGF, CYR61, $ITG{\beta}1$, FHL2, and to identify the relationship between abnormal cell proliferation and signal transduction pathway. Five groups were established; Control group, Group of DMH, Group of DMH-mixed Herbimycin, inhibitor of protein tyrosine kinase, Group of DMH-mixed Calphostin C, inhibitor of protein kinase C, Group Of Dmh-Mixed 10U Catalase, Inhibitor Of oxidase. The rise of vascular endothelial cell was compared by MTT assay, and four growth factors were analysed with RT-PCR method, at pre-administration, 4, 8, 12, and 24 hours after administration. In comparison of abnormal proliferation of vascular endothelial cell induced by DMH, suppression was noticed in Herbimycin and Calphostin C group, and Calphostin C group revealed higher suppression effect. Nevertheless, Catalase group did not have any suppression. In manifestation of four growth factors, Herbimycin and Calphostin C group presented similar manifestation with control group, except in $ITG{\beta}$. Catalse group had similar manifestation with DMH group in all four growth factors. Abnormal proliferation of vascular endothelial cell induced by DMH have a direct relationship with PTK and PKC, more specifically to PKC. Oxidase was confirmed not to have any relevance.

• International Journal of Stem Cells
• /
• v.17 no.1
• /
• pp.15-29
• /
• 2024

The development and differentiation of endothelial cells (ECs) are fundamental processes with significant implications for both health and disease. ECs, which are found in all organs and blood vessels, play a crucial role in facilitating nutrient and waste exchange and maintaining proper vessel function. Understanding the intricate signaling pathways involved in EC development holds great promise for enhancing vascularization, tissue engineering, and vascular regeneration. Hematopoietic stem cells originating from hemogenic ECs, give rise to diverse immune cell populations, and the interaction between ECs and immune cells is vital for maintaining vascular integrity and regulating immune responses. Dysregulation of vascular development pathways can lead to various diseases, including cancer, where tumor-specific ECs promote tumor growth through angiogenesis. Recent advancements in single-cell genomics and in vivo genetic labeling have shed light on EC development, plasticity, and heterogeneity, uncovering tissue-specific gene expression and crucial signaling pathways. This review explores the potential of ECs in various applications, presenting novel opportunities for advancing vascular medicine and treatment strategies.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
• /
• v.20 no.3
• /
• pp.685-689
• /
• 2006

In order to examine the injury of vascular endothelial cells related with oxidative stress of reactive oxygen species(ROS), mophological changes of vascular endothelial cells were observed by light microscope after bovine pulmonary vascular endothelial cell line (BPVEC) was treated with 15 uM of hydrogen peroxide. In addition, the effect of vitamin E against ROS-induced oxidative stress was examined by light microscope. In this study, the cell number of BPVEC treated with ROS has significantly decreased than that of control, and the loss of cytoplasmic processes and cell swelling were observed in BPVEC treated with ROS. Whereas, cell number of BPVEC treated with vitamin E has significantly increased than that of BPVEC treated with ROS and also, cytoplasmic processes of BPVEC treated with vitamin E were preserved as control. These findings suggested that not only did ROS induce damage of BPVES by decrease of cell number, loss of cytoplasmic processes and cell swelling, but vitamin E also has protective effect against ROS-induced oxidative stress in cultures of BPVEC.

• Advances in nano research
• /
• v.12 no.5
• /
• pp.501-514
• /
• 2022

This study aimed to investigate the effects and potential mechanisms of Chikusetsusaponin V (CsV) on endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and vascular endothelial cell functions. Different concentrations of CsV were added to animal models, bovine aorta endothelial cells (BAECs) and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) cultured in vitro. qPCR, Western blotting (WB), and B ultrasound were performed to explore the effects of CsV on mouse endothelial cell functions, vascular stiffness and cellular eNOS mRNA, protein expression and NO release. Bioinformatics analysis, network pharmacology, molecular docking and protein mass spectrometry analysis were conducted to jointly predict the upstream transcription factors of eNOS. Furthermore, pulldown and ChIP and dual luciferase assays were employed for subsequent verification. At the presence or absence of CsV stimulation, either overexpression or knockdown of purine rich element binding protein A (PURA) was conducted, and PCR assay was employed to detect PURA and eNOS mRNA expressions, Western blot was used to detect PURA and eNOS protein expressions, cell NO release and serum NO levels. Tube formation experiment was conducted to detect the tube forming capability of HUVECs cells. The animal vasodilation function test detected the vasodilation functions. Ultrasonic detection was performed to determine the mouse aortic arch pulse wave velocity to identify aortic stiffness. CsV stimulus on bovine aortic cells revealed that CsV could upregulate eNOS protein levels in vascular endothelial cells in a concentration and time dependent manner. The expression levels of eNOS mRNA and phosphorylation sites Ser1177, Ser633 and Thr495 increased significantly after CsV stimulation. Meanwhile, CsV could also enhance the tube forming capability of HUVECs cells. Following the mice were gavaged using CsV, the eNOS protein level of mouse aortic endothelial cells was upregulated in a concentration- and time-dependent manner, and serum NO release and vasodilation ability were simultaneously elevated whereas arterial stiffness was alleviated. The pulldown, ChIP and dual luciferase assays demonstrated that PURA could bind to the eNOS promoter and facilitate the transcription of eNOS. Under the conditions of presence or absence of CsV stimulation, overexpression or knockdown of PURA indicated that the effect of CsV on vascular endothelial function and eNOS was weakened following PURA gene silence, whereas overexpression of PURA gene could enhance the effect of CsV upregulating eNOS expression. CsV could promote NO release from endothelial cells by upregulating the expression of PURA/eNOS pathway, improve endothelial cell functions, enhance vasodilation capability, and alleviate vessel stiffness. The present study plays a role in offering a theoretical basis for the development and application of CsV in vascular function improvement, and it also provides a more comprehensive understanding of the pharmacodynamics of CsV.

• Molecules and Cells
• /
• v.41 no.6
• /
• pp.582-590
• /
• 2018

Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) and outgrowth endothelial cells (OECs) play a pivotal role in vascular regeneration in ischemic tissues; however, their therapeutic application in clinical settings is limited due to the low quality and quantity of patient-derived circulating EPCs. To solve this problem, we evaluated whether three priming small molecules (tauroursodeoxycholic acid, fucoidan, and oleuropein) could enhance the angiogenic potential of EPCs. Such enhancement would promote the cellular bioactivities and help to develop functionally improved EPC therapeutics for ischemic diseases by accelerating the priming effect of the defined physiological molecules. We found that preconditioning of each of the three small molecules significantly induced the differentiation potential of $CD34^+$ stem cells into EPC lineage cells. Notably, long-term priming of OECs with the three chemical cocktail (OEC-3C) increased the proliferation potential of EPCs via ERK activation. The migration, invasion, and tube-forming capacities were also significantly enhanced in OEC-3Cs compared with unprimed OECs. Further, the cell survival ratio was dramatically increased in OEC-3Cs against $H_2O_2$-induced oxidative stress via the augmented expression of Bcl-2, a pro-survival protein. In conclusion, we identified three small molecules for enhancing the bioactivities of ex vivo-expanded OECs for vascular repair. Long-term 3C priming might be a promising methodology for EPC-based therapy against ischemic diseases.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.30 no.3
• /
• pp.707-709
• /
• 2009

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
• /
• 2008.11a
• /
• pp.1404-1408
• /
• 2008

The migration and proliferation of vascular endothelial cells (VEC), which play an important role in vascular remodeling, are known to be regulated by hemodynamic forces in the blood vessels. When shear stresses of 2, 6, 15 dynes/$cm^2$ are applied on mouse micro-VEC in vitro, cells surprisingly migrate against the flow direction at all conditions. While higher flow rate imposes more resistance against the cells, reducing their migration speed, the horizontal component of the velocity parallel to the flow increases with the flow rate, indicating the higher alignment of cells in the direction parallel to the flow at a higher shear stress. In addition, cells exhibit substrate stiffness and calcium dependent migration behavior, which can be explained by polarized remodeling in the mechanosensitive pathway under shear stress.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
• /
• v.32 no.3
• /
• pp.318-326
• /
• 1999

Apoptotic cell death, characterized by DNA fragmentation and morphological changes, has previously been shown to occur in vascular endothelial cells cultured with hydrogen peroxide. The present study examined the induction of apoptosis by hydrogen peroxide and whether pyruvate, a key glycolytic intermediate and $\alpha$-keto-monocarboxylate, can inhibit the apoptotic effects in bovine pulmonary artery endothelial cells(BPAECs). Culture with 500uM hydrogen peroxide resulted in 30% cell death and induced morphological changes and DNA fragmentation. Cell injury was inhibited by the treatment with pyruvate. Pyruvate(0.1-5.0mM), and cell viability increased in a dose-dependent manner. In the presence of pyruvate(10~20mM), the viability was improved to over 95%. In contrast, treatment with lactate, a reduced form of phyuvate, did not protect against cell death oxidative stress-induced loss of viability and apoptosis was examined with $\alpha$-cyano-3-hydroxycinnarmate(COHC) as a selective mitochondrial monocarboxylate transport blocker. Incubation with COHC(500uM) did not significantly affect cell viability in the presence of hydrogen peroxide. The cytoprotection by pyruvate(3mM)against hydrogen peroxide stress was abolished by COHC. This indicates that the cytoprotection by pyruvate against oxidative stress in endothelial cells is mediated, at least in part, by mitochondrial pyruvate uptake and hence endothelial enerygetics. However, cytosolic mechanisms related, at least in part, by mitochondrial pyruvate uptake and hence endothelial energetics. However, cytosolic mechanisms related to the glutathione system may also contribute. The results suggest that pyruvate has therapeutic potential in the treatment of oxidative stress-induced cytotoxicity associated with increased apoptosis.