Alpha-lipoic acid ameliorates H 2 O 2 -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 (H ₂ O ₂ ) and to explore its possible mechanisms. We established the H ₂ O ₂ -induced HUVECs injury model and the ALA treatment groups in which HUVECs were co-incubated with H ₂ O ₂ (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 H ₂ O ₂ 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 H ₂ O ₂ -induced HUVECs damage by inhibiting inflammation and oxidative stress.