Objective This study investigated the rat aortic endothelial cells (RAECs) barrier damage and apoptosis induced by ox-LDL and explored its underlying mechanism. Methods RAVECs was cultured in vitro and treated with ox-LDL. We evaluated cell viability and Nitric oxide levels with cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) and Detection kit, respectively. The Elisa assay was performed which determine the release of inflammatory factors. And then scratch assay and qPCR were used to assess cell migration. Western blot was performed to measure the relative protein. Mitochondrial proteins were monitored via fluorescence microscope. Results In vitro study, we found that ox-LDL reduced aortic endothelial cell viability and migration, NO release and up-regulated TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β. In addition, ox-LDL decreased the expression of aortic endothelial cell barrier proteins Occludin and ZO-1, as well as increasing mitochondrial damage. Furthermore, AMPK-Nrf2 / Keap1-PGAM5 suppressed the mitochondrial damage and attenuated the RAECs apoptosis. Conclusion Our results suggested that ox-LDL can damage endothelial cell barrier, apoptosis and mitochondrial damage through AMPK-Nrf2 / Keap1-PGAM5 signaling axis, which provided a theoretical basis for explaining ox-LDL-induced endothelial cell damage.
