Gastrodin alleviates premature senescence of vascular endothelial cells by enhancing the Nrf2/HO-1 signalling pathway

Endothelial dysfunction is an independent risk factor for stroke. The dysfunction of endothelial cells (EC) is closely concerned with EC senescence. Gastrodin (GAS) is an organic compound extracted from the dried root mass of the Orchidaceae plant Gastrodiae gastrodiae. It is used clinically to treat diseases such as vertebrobasilar insufficiency, vestibular neuronitis and vertigo. In the present study, we used hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) to establish an in vitro EC senescence model and to investigate the role and mechanism of GAS in EC senescence. It's found that H2O2-treated HUVECs increased the proportion of senescence-associated beta-galactosidase (SA beta-gal) positive cells and the relative protein expression levels of senescence-associated cyclin p16 and p21. In addition, GAS reduced the proportion of SA beta-gal positive cells and the relative protein expression levels of p16 and p21, and increased the proliferation and migration ability of HUVECs. Meanwhile, GAS increased the expression of the anti-oxidative stress protein HO-1 and its nuclear expression level of Nrf2. The anti-senescence effect of GAS was blocked when HO-1 expression was inhibited by SnPPIX. Furthermore, absence of HO-1 abolished the effect of GAS on HUVEC proliferation and migration. In conclusion, GAS ameliorated H2O2-induced cellular senescence and enhanced cell proliferation and migration by enhancing Nrf2/HO-1 signalling in HUVECs. These findings of our study expanded the understanding of GAS pharmacology and suggested that GAS may offer a potential therapeutic agent for stroke.