[Src kinase-MAPK signal pathway plays a role in proliferation of endothelial cells induced by o-HA]

To investigate the effect of hyaluronan oligosaccharides (o-HA) on endothelial cell (EC) proliferation and the possible mechanism involved. The cell proliferation was determined by cell counting and flow cytometer, and the phosphorylation of Src kinase and ERK-1/2 as well as the expression of cyclin D1 were assayed by western blot. o-HA at concentration of 10 microg/ml caused a significantly increase in both cell cycle and cell number of EC. With increasing time and amount of o-HA of exposure, there was no further increase in the growth of cells. The cell proliferation started to be significant at 12 hr and reached peak at 72 hr. At the same time,the phosphorylation of Src kinase and ERK-1/2 was enhanced after treated with l microg/ml of o-HA at 5 min and the expression of cyclin D1 was enhanced by treating PIEC cells with o-HA at 3 hr. o-HA may increase EC growth by stimulating the Src kinase and MAPK signal pathway and thus promote the proliferation of PIEC cells,in which the regulation of cyclin D1 expression may be involved.