Cantharidin attenuates the proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells through suppressing inflammatory response.

Abnormal proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) and the chronic inflammation regulated by various inflammatory factors are the major pathological processes in the development of neointimal hyperplasia and in-stent restenosis after angioplasty. Cantharidin is a potent and selective inhibitor of protein phosphatase 2A, which plays pivotal roles in cell cycle progression, cell fate, and inflammation. This study was to explore whether Cantharidin could inhibit VSMCs proliferation, migration and inflammation. Transwell migration assay, Cell Counting Kit 8 and flow cytometry were performed. Western blot, Quantitative real-time PCR, and ELISA were used to detect the expression of the markers. Results showed that Cantharidin remarkably suppressed VSMCs proliferation and migration induced by PDGF-BB. Meanwhile, Cantharidin could significantly inhibit the phosphorylation of Akt (P-AKT) and p38 MAPK (P-p38), the expression of p38 MAPK (p38), and also the phosphorylation level of NF-κB p65 (p65). Cantharidin obviously inhibited the expression of IL-6 and TNF-α, and also the level of IL-6 and TNF-α in culture supernatants. Inhibitors for p38 MAPK, PI3K/AKT and NF-κB signaling pathways didn't affect the inhibition of Cantharidin on VSMCs proliferation, migration and inflammation. These findings indicated that Cantharidin could significantly inhibit the proliferation, migration and inflammatory response of VSMCs, which suggested that Cantharidin may be a potential inhibitor for neointimal hyperplasia and restenosis after angioplasty.