Alpha-lipoic acid ameliorates H2O2-induced human vein endothelial cells injury via suppression of inflammation and oxidative stress.

The study was aimed to investigate the effect of alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) injury induced by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and to explore its possible mechanisms. We established the H2O2-induced HUVECs injury model and the ALA treatment groups in which HUVECs were co-incubated with H2O2 (250 μmol/L) and different final concentrations of ALA (100,200,400 μmol/L) for 48 h. Cell survival rate assay and LDH activity assay were carried out. The levels of related proteins were performed by Western Blot. We observed that H2O2 administration resulted in an increase in the LDH activity and a decrease in cell survival rate. The expression levels of Nox4, Bax, NF-κB p65, Caspase-9, Caspase-3, iNOS, VCAM-1 and ICAM-1 were up-regulated, while the expression level of Bcl-2 was down-regulated. All these factors were significantly improved by ALA treatment. In brief, ALA treatment ameliorates H2O2-induced HUVECs damage by inhibiting inflammation and oxidative stress.