OBJECTIVE:To investigate the effect of leptin on the proliferation of airway smooth muscle cells (ASMCs) and the expressions of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) of hypoxic rats.
METHODS:The rat ASMCs were cultured under normoxic and hypoxic states. The hypoxic cells were divided into hypoxia group, leptin 50 μg/L hypoxia group (L50 group), leptin 100 μg/L hypoxia group (L100 group), leptin 200 μg/L hypoxia group (L200 group), leptin 200 μg/L and leptin receptor antibody hypoxia group (ob-R antibody group) by random number table. All the groups are cultured for 24 hours. Then the CCK-8 method was used to assay cell proliferation rate, and Western blotting and real-time RT-PCR to measure the expressions of HIF-1α and NF-κB at protein and mRNA levels.
RESULTS:Compared with the normoxic group, each hypoxia group had significantly increased cell proliferation . Compared with the hypoxia group, cell proliferation rate was significantly raised in L50, L100 and L200 groups, and it was positively correlated with the concentration (r=0.992). Compared with L50, L100 and L200 groups, the ob-R antibody group showed significantly decreased cell proliferation rate. Compared with the normoxic group, each hypoxic group has increased expressions of HIF-1α and NF-κB mRNA and proteins; compared with the hypoxia group, the expressions were significantly elevated in the L50, L100 and L200 groups and showed a positive correlation with the concentration; but the expressions were reduced in the ob-R antibody group as compared with L50, L100 and L200 groups.
CONCLUSION:Leptin can promote rat ASMCs proliferation and the expressions of HIF-1α and NF-κB under hypoxic condition.