Abstract:

Objective: To observe the effect of oleic acid on the proliferation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Methods: HUVECs were treated with oleic acid at concentrations of 50, 100, 200, 400μmol/L and 600 μmol/L (in combination with NaOH at a final concentration of 200μmol/L), respectively. The normal group receiving no treatment was served as the negative control, and the groups treated with NaOH at 200μmol/L alone were used as the positive control. MTT assay and trypan blue exclusion tests were used to evaluate the toxicity of oleic acid on cells. Results: Compared with the normal group, oleic acid significantly inhibited the proliferation of HUVECs. In addition, compared with the group treated with oleic acid at a low concentration (50μmol/L), an obvious strong inhibition effect on cell proliferation was observed in groups treated with oleic acid at high concentrations (400μmol/L and 600μmol/L). However, no significant difference was observed between the positive control and the normal group. Moreover, the amount of viable cells in oleic acid-treated groups was obviously reduced. Conclusion: Oleic acid has obvious side effect on HUVECs in a concentration- and time-dependent manner.

Key words: oleic acid, human umbilical vein endothelial cells, MTT assay