Effect of recombinant human interleukin-10 on the in vitro proliferation of rat vascular smooth muscle cells.

OBJECTIVE

To observe the effects of recombinant human interleukin-10 (rhIL-10) on the proliferation of rat vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) cultured in vitro. METHOD: Aortic VSMCs cultured in vitro were treated with varied doses of rhIL-10 alone or in combination with tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TGF-alpha) or platelet-derived growth factor-BB(PDGF- BB) respectively. The VSMC proliferation was quantified by colormetric assay. RESULTS: Compared with control, both TNF-alpha and PDGF-BB stimulated conspicuous proliferation of VSMCs, but the effect of which was not observed by rhIL-10 treatment alone. In the presence of rhIL-10, the proliferation effects of both TGF-alpha and PDGF-BB on VSMCs were significantly inhibited (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: rhIL-10 can inhibit VSMC proliferation induced by TNF-alpha and PDGF-BB, thus may provide a new therapeutic approach for regulating vascular wall remodeling after vascular injury.