Polysaccharide from Fuzi protects against Ox‑LDL‑induced calcification of human vascular smooth muscle cells by increasing autophagic activity

Liao,Lizhen; Zhuang,Xiaodong; Li,Weidong; Su,Qibiao; Zhao,Jie; Liu,Ying

doi:10.3892/mmr.2018.8488

Polysaccharide from Fuzi protects against Ox‑LDL‑induced calcification of human vascular smooth muscle cells by increasing autophagic activity

Authors:
- Lizhen Liao
- Xiaodong Zhuang
- Weidong Li
- Qibiao Su
- Jie Zhao
- Ying Liu
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Affiliations: Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510006, P.R. China, Department of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat‑sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, P.R. China
Published online on: January 25, 2018 https://doi.org/10.3892/mmr.2018.8488
Pages: 5109-5115
Copyright: © Liao et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

Polysaccharide from Fuzi (FPS) is a water‑soluble polysaccharide isolated from the traditional Chinese herbal medicine Fuzi. It has been demonstrated to protect hepatocytes against ischemia‑reperfusion injury through its potent antioxidant effects, and to attenuate starvation‑induced cytotoxicity in H9c2 cells by increasing autophagic activity. In the present study, Alizarin Red S staining was used to detect mineral deposition and reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to detect the core binding factor α1 and smooth muscle 22α mRNA expression. To analyze autophagic activity, western blotting was used to detect microtubule‑associated protein 1A/1B light chain 3 and nucleoporin P62 expression. In addition, green fluorescent protein‑LC3 dots‑per‑cell was observed by fluorescence microscopy. It was demonstrated that oxidized low‑density lipoprotein (Ox‑LDL) could increase the calcification of human vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) in a concentration‑dependent manner, and that FPS treatment had a significant protective effect against Ox‑LDL‑induced calcification of human VSMCs. Furthermore, FPS treatment alleviated the Ox‑LDL‑induced downregulation of autophagic activity, and the protective effect of FPS on Ox‑LDL‑induced calcification was attenuated by the autophagy inhibitor 3‑methyladenine. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated for the first time to the best of the authors' knowledge that FPS can protect against Ox‑LDL‑induced vascular calcification in human VSMCs, and that this likely occurs via the activation of autophagy. This supports the hypothesis that autophagy may be an endogenous protective mechanism counteracting vascular calcification, and that FPS may be used as a potential therapeutic for vascular calcification.

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