antioxidant and cytoprotective effects of l-serine on human endothelial cells

oxidative stress has been implicated as a prominent determinant in the development of several diseases such as atherosclerosis. anti atherosclerotic effects of l-serine have been shown previously but its responsible mechanisms remained unidentified .this study aimed to investigate the antioxidant and cytoprotecrtive effects of l-serine and its possible mechanisms. for this purpose ,cell viability analysis and nuclear factor-erythroid 2 (nf-e2)-related factor 2 (nrf2) activity, heme oxygenase-1 (ho-1) concentration, total nitric oxide (nox) production were evaluated in oxidative stress-induced human umbilical vein endothelial cells (huvecs) pretreated by l-serine. cytoprotective effects of l-serine was measured through 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (mtt) assay. nrf2 activity and ho-1 concentration were determined in the cell lysate by commercial immunoassay methods. nox was assayed in the supernatant of culture medium through colorimetric griess method. pretreatment with l-serine (0.1-3.2 mm) protected endothelial cells from hydrogen peroxide-mediated cell cytotoxicity (h 2 o 2 , 0.5 mm) and lead to significant induction of nrf2 activity, ho-1 expresssion and nox production. these findings demonstrated that l-serine has antioxidant and cytoprotective effects through the elevation of some crucial antioxidant factors such as nrf2, ho-1 and no.