Cilostazol suppresses angiotensin II-induced apoptosis in endothelial cells.

Patients with essential hypertension undergo endothelial dysfunction, particularly in the conduit arteries. Cilostazol, a type III phosphodiesterase inhibitor, serves a role in the inhibition of platelet aggregation and it is widely used in the treatment of peripheral vascular diseases. Previous studies have suggested that cilostazol suppresses endothelial dysfunction; however, it remains unknown whether cilostazol protects the endothelial function in essential hypertension. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether, and how, cilostazol suppresses angiotensin II (angII)­induced endothelial dysfunction. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and Sprague Dawley rats were exposed to angII and treated with cilostazol. Endothelial cell apoptosis and function, nitric oxide and superoxide production, phosphorylation (p) of Akt, and caspase­3 protein expression levels were investigated. AngII exposure resulted in the apoptosis of endothelial cells in vitro and in vivo. In vitro, cilostazol significantly suppressed the angII­induced apoptosis of HUVECs; however, this effect was reduced in the presence of LY294002, a phosphoinositide 3 kinase (PI3K) inhibitor. Furthermore, cilostazol suppressed the angII­induced p­Akt downregulation and cleaved caspase­3 upregulation. These effects were also alleviated by LY294002. In vivo, cilostazol suppressed the angII­induced endothelial cell apoptosis and dysfunction. Cilostazol was also demonstrated to partially reduced the angII­induced increase in superoxide production. The results of the present study suggested that cilostazol suppresses endothelial apoptosis and dysfunction by modulating the PI3K/Akt pathway.

High-mobility group box 1 induces calcineurin-mediated cell hypertrophy in neonatal rat ventricular myocytes.

Cardiac hypertrophy is an independent predictor of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. In recent years, evidences suggest that high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) protein, an inflammatory cytokine, participates in cardiac remodeling; however, the involvement of HMGB1 in the pathogenesis of cardiac hypertrophy remains unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate whether HMGB1 is sufficient to induce cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and to identify the possible mechanisms underlying the hypertrophic response. Cardiomyocytes isolated from 1-day-old Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with recombinant HMGB1, at concentrations ranging from 50 ng/mL to 200 ng/mL. After 24 hours, cardiomyocytes were processed for the evaluation of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and calcineurin A expression. Western blot and real-time RT-PCR was used to detect protein and mRNA expression levels, respectively. The activity of calcineurin was also evaluated using a biochemical enzyme assay. HMGB1 induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, characterized by enhanced expression of ANP, and increased protein synthesis. Meanwhile, increased calcineurin activity and calcineurin A protein expression were observed in cardiomyocytes preconditioned with HMGB1. Furthermore, cyclosporin A pretreatment partially inhibited the HMGB1-induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy. Our findings suggest that HMGB1 leads to cardiac hypertrophy, at least in part through activating calcineurin.