Overexpression of vascular endothelial growth factor 165 (VEGF165) protects cardiomyocytes against doxorubicin-induced apoptosis

Doxorubicin (Dox) has been employed in cancer chemotherapy for a few decades. However its clinical application became restricted because of dose-dependent cardiomyopathy. Recent studies suggest that Dox-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis is a primary cause of cardiac damage. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a major factor for endothelial cell survival and angiogenesis. We have previously shown that VEGF165 significantly attenuates oxidative stress-induced cardiomyocytes apoptosis. We hypothesized that VEGF165 will protect the cardiomyocytes from Dox-induced apoptosis. to evaluate our hypothesis, we transfected cardiomyocytes H9c2 with adenovirus expressing VEGF165 24 hours before the cells were challenged with Dox at a concentration of 2 μm. Cardiomyocyte apoptosis was evaluated by Annexin V-FITC staining and by Western blot detection of cleaved caspase-3. The hypothesis was confirmed, and the protective mechanisms involve the inhibition of death receptor-mediated apoptosis and up-regulation of the prosurvival Akt/Nf-κb/bcl-2 signaling pathway.