Effect of vascular endothelial growth factor from mesenchymal stem cells on antiapoptosis of H9C2 cells through PI3K/Akt signal pathway

AIM:To explore the effect of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) on antiapoptosis of H9C2 cells. METHODS: In vitro, condition medium (CM) from MSCs was collected after MSCs were cultured for 2 days. After H9C2 cells were pretreated with VEGFR inhibitor SU5416 (5 μmol/L) or PI3K/Akt inhibitor LY294002 (10 μmol/L) for 1 h, apoptosis of the cells was observed under hypoxia with Annexin V and PI double staining by flow cytometry. The expressions of Akt and pAkt in H9c2 cells were detected by Western blotting and expressions of VEGF in MSCs were detected by RTPCR. RESULTS: RTPCR showed the expression of VEGF on MSCs, and Western blotting showed increased levels of pAkt protein in H9C2 cells after treatment with CM. CM decreased H9C2 cell apoptosis but the antiapoptotic effect of the CM was blocked by VEGFR inhibitor SU5416 or PI3K/Akt inhibitor LY294002 (10 μmol/L), respectively. CONCLUSION: VEGF from MSCs plays an important role in the protection of H9C2 cells through PI3K/Akt signal pathway.