Vitamin E inhibits proliferation of primary cultured human mesangial and endothelial cells

Background: Vitamin E (VE) has been used as an antioxidant and has been suggested to inhibit the proliferation of mesangial cells in rat and vascular endothelial cells. The direct effect of VE on primary cultures of mesangial cells (MC) and endothelial cells (EC) from the human glomerulus was studied.

Methods: (1) MC (in 17 or 2.5% FCS DMEM) or EC (in 10 or 5% FCS CSC) at 5,000 cells/well was incubated with serial concentrations of VE from 0.05 to 50 microg/ml (0.06 to 60 IU/l). (2) MC was cocultured with 160, 80, 40 or 20 microg/ml of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or oxidized LDL (ox-LDL) in 17 or 2.5% FCS DMEM with or without VE. After 3 days of incubation at 37 degrees C in 5% CO(2), cell proliferation was measured by the Premix WST-1 Assay System.

Results: The concentration of VE that significantly inhibited the proliferation of MC cultured in 17 or 2.5% FCS DMEM was 50 or 2.5 microg/ml (60 or 3.0 IU/l), respectively, and that of EC in 10 or 5% FCS medium was 50 or 25 microg/ml (60 or 30 IU/l). VE at 25 microg/ml (30 IU/l) inhibited the LDL proliferative effect on MC cultured in 2.5 FCS DMEM by 21.79-93.21% in a LDL concentration-dependent manner. There was little difference between the effects of LDL and ox-LDL on the VE inhibitory effect on MC under our experimental conditions.

Conclusion: VE at low concentrations had no effect on the proliferation of both MC and EC, but at high concentrations, it showed an inhibitory effect on both cells.