title: Synthetic peptide, Ala-Arg-Glu-Gly-Glu-Met, abolishes pro-proliferative and anti-apoptotic effects of high glucose in vascular smooth muscle cells.
abstract: Apoptosis plays a critical role in normal vascular development and atherosclerosis. However, high glucose has been reported to generate a certain level of ROS that can inhibit vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) apoptosis, with the underlying mechanism remaining unclear. In this study, a synthetic peptide AREGEM (Ala-Arg-Glu-Gly-Glu-Met) exhibited antioxidative effects and was used to investigate its function in VSMCs during hyperglycaemia. MTT assay results demonstrated that AREGEM significantly attenuated high glucose-induced VSMCs proliferation. Flow cytometry displayed that high glucose levels inhibited cell apoptosis, whereas this effect was attenuated by pre-incubation with AREGEM. In addition, the 2',7'-dichlorofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA) fluorescent probe assay further demonstrated that AREGEM reduced intracellular ROS accumulation in VSMCs. Furthermore, this peptide was able to prevent the decrease of caspase-3 activity and the increase of the ratio of Bcl-2/Bax protein in VSMCs exposed to high glucose. These findings demonstrated that AREGEM is able to abolish the effects of high glucose in VSMCs; therefore, this peptide can be a potential candidate to develop a novel strategy for curing diabetic related diseases.
authors.affiliation: College of Food Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Finance and Economics, Nanjing 210023, China; Collaborative Innovation Centre for Modern Grain Circulation and Safety, Nanjing University of Finance and Economics, Nanjing 210023, China; Key Laboratory of Grains and Oils Quality Control and Processing, Nanjing University of Finance and Economics, Nanjing 210023, China.
authors.forename: Xiaozhou
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: College of Food Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Finance and Economics, Nanjing 210023, China; Collaborative Innovation Centre for Modern Grain Circulation and Safety, Nanjing University of Finance and Economics, Nanjing 210023, China; Key Laboratory of Grains and Oils Quality Control and Processing, Nanjing University of Finance and Economics, Nanjing 210023, China.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lyu
authors.affiliation: Beijing Centre for Diseases Control and Prevention, Beijing 100013, China.
authors.forename: Junyu
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ning
authors.affiliation: College of Food Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Finance and Economics, Nanjing 210023, China; Collaborative Innovation Centre for Modern Grain Circulation and Safety, Nanjing University of Finance and Economics, Nanjing 210023, China; Key Laboratory of Grains and Oils Quality Control and Processing, Nanjing University of Finance and Economics, Nanjing 210023, China.
authors.forename: Xiaozhi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: College of Food Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Finance and Economics, Nanjing 210023, China; Collaborative Innovation Centre for Modern Grain Circulation and Safety, Nanjing University of Finance and Economics, Nanjing 210023, China; Key Laboratory of Grains and Oils Quality Control and Processing, Nanjing University of Finance and Economics, Nanjing 210023, China. Electronic address: shenxinchun@njue.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Xinchun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Shen
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D053148:Caspase 3 / Q000378:metabolism; D002460:Cell Line; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects*; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D006943:Hyperglycemia / Q000378:metabolism; D009131:Muscle, Smooth, Vascular / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D032389:Myocytes, Smooth Muscle / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000378:metabolism; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism*; D051028:bcl-2-Associated X Protein / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D010455:Peptides; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D051028:bcl-2-Associated X Protein; D053148:Caspase 3; D005947:Glucose
keywords: Apoptosis; High glucose; Radical oxygen species (ROS); Synthetic peptide; Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs)