Effect of quercetin on hydrogen peroxide-induced AKT/mTOR signaling pathway and autophagy in human umbilical vein endothelial cells

ObjectiveTo analyze the effect of quercetin on autophagy and proliferation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells and its relationship with AKT/mTOR signaling pathway.

MethodsMTT method was used to detect cell viability.MDC staining was used to detect the level of autophagy vesicles.Western blotting was used to detect the levels of autophagy-related proteins, and 3-MA was used to study the effect of quercetin on autophagy and cell proliferation.

ResultsQuercetin increased the viability of human umbilical vein endothelial cells and up-regulated the fluorescent particles labeled by MDC staining in the cells followed with the increase in concentration, which promoted the expressions of autophagy protein LC3 Ⅱ/LC3 Ⅰ in umbilical vein endothelial cells and reduce the levels of p-AKT/AKT and p-mTOR/mTOR(P < 0.01).Compared with the quercetin group, the cell viability and LC3 Ⅱ/LC3 Ⅰ of the quercetin+3-MA group were significantly reduced, and p-mTOR/mTOR was significantly increased(P < 0.05).

ConclusionsQuercetin can regulate the proliferation of umbilical vein endothelial cells by inhibiting the AKT/mTOR signaling pathway and inducing autophagy.