Sodium ferulate inhibits high-fat diet-induced inflammatory factors expression in human umbilical vein endothelial cells

Vascular inflammation is an important hallmark of high-fat-induced atherosclerosis. Oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) is a key initiator of inflammation as it induces inflammatory gene expression in vascular endothelial cells. Sodium ferulate (SF), an active component from Chinese medicine, demonstrated anti-atherosclerotic potency. However, the mechanism is unknown. Here we investigated how SF changed the cellular gene expression profile and restored ox-LDL-triggered inflammation in HUVECs. Gene expression profile, inflammatory gene expression and NF-κB activation were investigated in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) with or without SF (5 μM) treatment after precondition with ox-LDL (50 μg/mL). Ox-LDL treatment increased the production of IL-1β, CCL20, IL-6, IL-8 and CXCL1. SF stimulation modulated the translocation of NF-κB between cytoplasm and nucleus, and alleviated the inflammatory response induced by ox-LDL. Collectively, SF could suppress the expression of inflammatory factors in ox-LDL-stimulated endothelial cells, and transcription factor NF-κB might be involved in such process.