Effects of valsartan, a type 1 angiotensin II receptor antagonist,on airway smooth muscle cells proliferation

Objective: To investigate the effect of type 1 angiotensin II receptor antagonist on airway smooth muscle cells prolifer-ation.Methods: Human airway smooth muscle cells(HASMCs) derived from human bronchus were cultured and stimulated with or with-out valsartan and angiotensin II in vitro.The proliferation rate of HASMCs was detected by MTT method.Cell cycle was detected by flow cytometry.Real-time PCR was explored to measure the mRNA expression level of transforming growth factor-β1(TGF-β1).Re-sults:(1)The proliferation rate of HASMCs was increased significantly in Ang II group.Compared with control group(P0.05),valsartan,a type 1 angiotensin II receptor antagonist,decreased the proliferation rate of cells stimulated by Ang II(P0.05).(2)Flow cytometry dis-closed that the Ang II increased significantly S phase of HASMCs(P0.05);valsartan decreased S phase of cells stimulated by Ang II(P0.05).(3)The expression of TGF-β1mRNA in the Ang II group were higher than that of control group(P0.05) and valsartan + Ang II group(P0.05).Conclusions: Type 1 angiotensin II receptor antagonist can inhibit the proliferation of HASMCs induced by AngII,prob-ably through the down-regulation of TGF-β1.