Effect of tanshinone IIA on TLR4 and TNF-α of endothelial cells induced by LPS

AIM:To observe the influence of tanshinone ⅡA on the expression of toll like receptor 4(TLR4) and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α) in cultured human umbilical veins endothelial cells EA.hy926 induced by LPS,and to investigate the molecular mechanism of tanshinone ⅡA against atherosclerosis(AS).METHODS:The EA.hy926 cells were cultured in vitro.The mRNA and protein expression of TLR4 were tested by RT-PCR and immunocytochemistry technique respectively.The mRNA and protein expression of TNF-α were detected by RT-PCR and ELISA technique respectively.RESULTS:The expression of TLR4 and TNF-α were both increased compared to normal group after stimulation of LPS(P0.05).The expression of TLR4 and TNF-α in tanshinone ⅡA group were obviously inhibited compared to stimulation group(P0.05).CONCLUSION:The molecular mechanism of tanshinone ⅡA against AS is probably to inhibit the expression of TLR4 and TNF-α.