Abstract: Objective To investigate the influence of high- level of glucose on the expression of ghrelin in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Methods After 12 h glucose free culturing, the effects of different concentrations of glucose and different incubation times on expressions of ghrelin were observed in HUVECs. (1) The cells were treated with 0, 5, 10, 15, 20 mmol/L glucose for 2 h, then ghrelin mRNA expression levels were detected by RT-PCR, and the protein levels of ghrelin were detected by ELISA. (2) The cells were treated with 10 mmol/L glucose for 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 6, 12 hours, ghrelin mRNA and protein levels were detected respectively. Results (1) The expression levels of ghrelin mRNA and protein decreased along with increased glucose concentrations, which showed no obvious changes when the glucose was above 15 mmol/L. (2) The expression levels of ghrelin mRNA and protein decreased with the prolonged incubation time. But more than 6 h culturing time showed no further effect on reducing the expression level of ghrelin. Conclusion High levels of glucose can inhibit the expression level of ghrelin, which may be one of the mechanisms of atherosclerosis.

Key words: atherosclerosis, glucose, ghrelin, umbilical vein endothelial cell