TWIST1在人脐静脉内皮细胞增殖、迁移及血管形成中的作用

探讨TWIST1在原代人脐静脉内皮细胞（human umbilical vein endothelial cells,HUVECs）增殖、迁移及体外血管生成中的作用。用有靶向人TWIST1基因shRNA（pLL3.7-shTwist1-GFP）的慢病毒液感染试验组细胞,同时以携带Scramble shRNA的慢病毒液（pLL3.7-shCtrl-GFP）感染对照组细胞,用流式细胞术测定细胞感染效率,实时荧光定量PCR（real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR,qRT-PCR）检测shRNA的基因沉默效率。通过制作细胞生长曲线、Annexin V/7AAD染色流式细胞术、细胞划痕实验、小管形成实验、qRT-PCR检测TWIST1表达降低对HUVECs的增殖、凋亡、迁移、血管形成能力以及血管生长因子受体2（vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2,VEGFR2）基因表达的影响。试验组TWIST1基因表达下降为对照组的30%,表明shTWIST1能有效降低TWIST1基因的表达。与对照组相比,敲降TWIST1能明显抑制HUVECs的增殖（P<0.01）,诱导细胞凋亡（P<0.05）。试验组HUVECs划痕愈合率、体外生成的血管样结构数目和总小管分支长度均显著低于对照组（P<0.01）;与对照组相比,试验组HUVECs中VEGFR2的表达显著降低（P<0.01）。通过探究HUVECs表达的TWIST1在内皮细胞增殖、存活、迁移和毛细血管样结构的形成中的作用,为TWIST1作为抑制肿瘤血管新生治疗的新靶点提供一定的理论依据。     

Carbon Black Nanoparticles Promote Endothelial Activation and Lipid Accumulation in Macrophages Independently of Intracellular ROS Production

Exposure to nanoparticles (NPs) may cause vascular effects including endothelial dysfunction and foam cell formation, with oxidative stress and inflammation as supposed central mechanisms. We investigated oxidative stress, endothelial dysfunction and lipid accumulation caused by nano-sized carbon black (CB) exposure in cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), THP-1 (monocytes) and THP-1 derived macrophages (THP-1a). The proliferation of HUVECs or co-cultures of HUVECs and THP-1 cells were unaffected by CB exposure, whereas there was increased cytotoxicity, assessed by the LDH and WST-1 assays, especially in THP-1 and THP-1a cells. The CB exposure decreased the glutathione (GSH) content in THP-1 and THP-1a cells, whereas GSH was increased in HUVECs. The reactive oxygen species (ROS) production was increased in all cell types after CB exposure. A reduction of the intracellular GSH concentration by buthionine sulfoximine (BSO) pre-treatment further increased the CB-induced ROS production in THP-1 cells and HUVECs. The expression of adhesion molecules ICAM-1 and VCAM-1, but not adhesion of THP-1 to HUVECs or culture dishes, was elevated by CB exposure, whereas these effects were unaffected by BSO pre-treatment. qRT-PCR showed increased VCAM1 expression, but no change in GCLM and HMOX1 expression in CB-exposed HUVECs. Pre-exposure to CB induced lipid accumulation in THP-1a cells, which was not affected by the presence of the antioxidant N-acetylcysteine. In addition, the concentrations of CB to induce lipid accumulation were lower than the concentrations to promote intracellular ROS production in THP-1a cells. In conclusion, exposure to nano-sized CB induced endothelial dysfunction and foam cell formation, which was not dependent on intracellular ROS production.     

Erythroid-Specific Expression of LIN28A Is Sufficient for Robust Gamma-Globin Gene and Protein Expression in Adult Erythroblasts

Increasing fetal hemoglobin (HbF) levels in adult humans remains an active area in hematologic research. Here we explored erythroid-specific LIN28A expression for its effect in regulating gamma-globin gene expression and HbF levels in cultured adult erythroblasts. For this purpose, lentiviral transduction vectors were produced with LIN28A expression driven by erythroid-specific gene promoter regions of the human KLF1 or SPTA1 genes. Transgene expression of LIN28A with a linked puromycin resistance marker was restricted to the erythroid lineage as demonstrated by selective survival of erythroid colonies (greater than 95% of all colonies). Erythroblast LIN28A over-expression (LIN28A-OE) did not significantly affect proliferation or inhibit differentiation. Greater than 70% suppression of total let-7 microRNA levels was confirmed in LIN28A-OE cells. Increases in gamma-globin mRNA and protein expression with HbF levels reaching 30–40% were achieved. These data suggest that erythroblast targeting of LIN28A expression is sufficient for increasing fetal hemoglobin expression in adult human erythroblasts.     

miR-1290 promotes IL-8-mediated vascular endothelial cell adhesion by targeting GSK-3β

Background

MicroRNA-1290 (miR-1290) has been reported to be involved in many diseases and play a key role during the development process. However, the role of miR-1290 in atherosclerosis (AS) is still unclear.

Methods and results

The current study showed that the expressions of miR-1290 were high in serum of patients with hyperlipidemia. The functional role of miR-1290 were then investigated in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Here, we found that miR-1290 expressions were notably enhanced in HUVECs mediated by IL-8. miR-1290 inhibitor repressed monocytic THP-1 cells adhesion to HUVECs by regulating ICAM-1 and VCAM-1, inhibited proliferation through regulating cyclinD1 and PCNA, and inhibited inflammatory response by regulating IL-1β. Mechanistically, we verified that miR-1290 mimic was able to directly target the 3′-UTR of GSK-3β mRNA using luciferase reporter assay. Knockdown of GSK-3β (si-GSK-3β) promoted HUVECs adhesion and the expression of IL-1β, and partially restore the depression effect of miR-1290 inhibitor on HUVECs adhesion and inflammation. In contrast, si-GSK-3β inhibited the proliferation of HUVECs and the expression of cyclinD1 and PCNA.

Conclusions

In summary, our study revealed that miR-1290 promotes IL-8-mediated the adhesion of HUVECs by targeting GSK-3β. However, GSK-3β is not the target protein for miR-1290 to regulate the proliferation of HUVECs. Our findings may provide potential target in atherosclerosis treatment.

     

A Lentiviral Gene Therapy Strategy for the In Vitro Production of Feline Erythropoietin

Nonregenerative anemia due to chronic renal failure is a common problem in domestic cats. Unfortunately, administration of recombinant human erythropoietin often only improves anemia temporarily due to antibody development. In this in vitro study, feline erythropoietin cDNA was cloned from feline renal tissue and utilized in the construction of a replication-defective lentiviral vector. The native recombinant feline erythropoietin (rfEPO) sequence was confirmed by sequencing. Upon viral vector infection of human 293H cells, Crandall Renal Feline Kidney cell line and primary feline peripheral blood mononuclear cells, bioactive rfEPO protein was produced. The presence of cellular rfEPO cDNA was confirmed by standard PCR, production of abundant rfEPO mRNA was confirmed by real-time PCR, and secretion of rfEPO protein was demonstrated by Western blot analyses, while rfEPO protein bioactivity was confirmed via an MTT proliferation bioassay. This in vitro study demonstrates the feasibility of a replication-defective lentiviral vector delivery system for the in vitro production of biologically active feline erythropoietin. Anemic cats with chronic renal failure represent a potential in vivo application of a lentiviral gene therapy system.     

Paracrine interleukin-8 affects mesenchymal stem cells through the Akt pathway and enhances human umbilical vein endothelial cell proliferation and migration

Interleukin-8 (IL-8) promotes cell homing and angiogenesis, but its effects on activating human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) and promoting angiogenesis are unclear. We used bioinformatics to predict these processes. In vitro, BMSCs were stimulated in a high-glucose (HG) environment with 50 or 100 μg/ml IL-8 was used as the IL-8 group. A total of 5 μmol/l Triciribine was added to the two IL-8 groups as the Akt inhibitor group. Cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were cultured in BMSCs conditioned medium (CM). The changes in proliferation, apoptosis, migration ability and levels of VEGF and IL-6 in HUVECs were observed in each group. Seventy processes and 26 pathways were involved in vascular development, through which IL-8 affected BMSCs. Compared with the HG control group, HUVEC proliferation absorbance value (A value), Gap closure rate, and Transwell cell migration rate in the IL-8 50 and IL-8 100 CM groups were significantly increased (P<0.01, n=30). However, HUVEC apoptosis was significantly decreased (P<0.01, n=30). Akt and phospho-Akt (P-Akt) protein contents in lysates of BMSCs treated with IL-8, as well as VEGF and IL-6 protein contents in the supernatant of BMSCs treated with IL-8, were all highly expressed (P<0.01, n=15). These analyses confirmed that IL-8 promoted the expression of 41 core proteins in BMSCs through the PI3K Akt pathway, which could promote the proliferation and migration of vascular endothelial cells. Therefore, in an HG environment, IL-8 activated the Akt signaling pathway, promoted paracrine mechanisms of BMSCs, and improved the proliferation and migration of HUVECs.     

A Novel Function of CD82/KAI1 in Sialyl Lewis Antigen-Mediated Adhesion of Cancer Cells: Evidence for an Anti-Metastasis Effect by Down-Regulation of Sialyl Lewis Antigens

We have recently elucidated a novel function for CD82 in E-cadherin-mediated homocellular adhesion; due to this function, it can inhibit cancer cell dissociation from the primary cancer nest and limit metastasis. However, the effect of CD82 on selectin ligand-mediated heterocellular adhesion has not yet been elucidated. In this study, we focused on the effects of the metastasis suppressor CD82/KAI1 on heterocellular adhesion of cancer cells to the endothelium of blood vessels in order to further elucidate the function of tetraspanins. The over-expression of CD82 in cancer cells led to the inhibition of experimentally induced lung metastases in mice and significantly inhibited the adhesion of these cells to human umbilical vein epithelial cells (HUVECs) in vitro. Pre-treatment of the cells with function-perturbing antibodies against sLe^a/x significantly inhibited the adhesion of CD82-negative cells to HUVECs. In addition, cells over-expressing CD82 exhibited reduced expression of sLe^a/x compared to CD82-negative wild-type cells. Significant down-regulation of ST3 β-galactoside α-2, 3-sialyltransferase 4 (ST3GAL4) was detected by cDNA microarray, real-time PCR, and western blotting analyses. Knockdown of ST3GAL4 on CD82-negative wild-type cells inhibited expression of sLe^x and reduced cell adhesion to HUVECs. We concluded that CD82 decreases sLe^a/x expression via the down-regulation of ST3GAL4 expression and thereby reduces the adhesion of cancer cells to blood vessels, which results in inhibition of metastasis.     

Advanced modular self-inactivating lentiviral expression vectors for multigene interventions in mammalian cells and in vivo transduction

In recent years, lentiviral expression systems have gained an unmatched reputation among the gene therapy community for their ability to deliver therapeutic transgenes into a wide variety of difficult-to-transfect/transduce target tissues (brain, hematopoietic system, liver, lung, retina) without eliciting significant humoral immune responses. We have cloned a construction kit-like self-inactivating lentiviral expression vector family which is compatible to state-of-the-art packaging and pseudotyping technologies and contains, besides essential cis-acting lentiviral sequences, (i) unparalleled polylinkers with up to 29 unique sites for restriction endonucleases, many of which recognize 8 bp motifs, (ii) strong promoters derived from the human cytomegalovirus immediate-early promoter (P_hCMV) or the human elongation factor 1α (P_hEF1α), (iii) P_hCMV– or P_PGK– (phosphoglycerate kinase promoter) driven G418 resistance markers or fluorescent protein-based expression tracers and (iv) tricistronic expression cassettes for coordinated expression of up to three transgenes. In addition, we have designed a size-optimized series of highly modular lentiviral expression vectors (pLenti Module) which contain, besides the extensive central polylinker, unique restriction sites flanking any of the 5′U3, R-U5-ψ+-SD, cPPT-RRE-SA and 3′LTR_ΔU3 modules or placed within the 5′U3 (–78 bp) and 3′LTR_ΔU3 (8666 bp). pLentiModule enables straightforward cassette-type module swapping between lentiviral expression vector family members and facilitates the design of Tat-independent (replacement of 5′LTR by heterologous promoter elements), regulated and self-excisable proviruses (insertion of responsive operators or LoxP in the 3′LTR_ΔU3 element). We have validated our lentiviral expression vectors by transduction of a variety of insect, chicken, murine and human cell lines as well as adult rat cardiomyocytes, rat hippocampal slices and chicken embryos. The novel multi-purpose construction kit-like vector series described here is compatible with itself as well as many other (non-viral) mammalian expression vectors for straightforward exchange of key components (e.g. promoters, LTRs, resistance genes) and will assist the gene therapy and tissue engineering communities in developing lentiviral expression vectors tailored for optimal treatment of prominent human diseases.     

HDAC2 sumo-E3连接酶活性在DLD1细胞迁移和增殖中的作用

目的:探讨HDAC2 sumo-E3连接酶对DLD1细胞迁移与增殖的影响和可能机制。方法:全基因合成HDAC2 sumo-E3连接酶突变体HDAC2(325-488),并构建其重组慢病毒表达载体;感染DLD1hdac2-/-细胞(无内源性HDAC2表达),筛选稳定表HDAC2(325-488)的细胞克隆DLD1h325-488;RTCA实时细胞分析仪、Trans-well等检测DLD1h325-488稳定细胞的增殖和迁移能力;免疫印迹、q RT-PCR检测DLD1h325-488稳定细胞增殖和迁移相关基因的表达。结果:构建了稳定表达HDAC2 sumo-E3连接酶突变体HDAC2(325-488)的细胞株DLD1h325-488,并获得稳定表达HDAC2 sumo-E3连接酶突变体HDAC2(325-488)的DLD1h325-488细胞。与对照组细胞相比,DLD1h325-488细胞增殖活性无显著变化,但是细胞的迁移能力和迁移相关蛋白MMP14的表达显著上升。结论:HDAC2 sumo-E3连接酶可能通过上调mmp14的表达而促进DLD1细胞的迁移。     

Sparstolonin B Inhibits Pro-Angiogenic Functions and Blocks Cell Cycle Progression in Endothelial Cells

Sparstolonin B (SsnB) is a novel bioactive compound isolated from Sparganium stoloniferum, an herb historically used in Traditional Chinese Medicine as an anti-tumor agent. Angiogenesis, the process of new capillary formation from existing blood vessels, is dysregulated in many pathological disorders, including diabetic retinopathy, tumor growth, and atherosclerosis. In functional assays, SsnB inhibited endothelial cell tube formation (Matrigel method) and cell migration (Transwell method) in a dose-dependent manner. Microarray experiments with human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAECs) demonstrated differential expression of several hundred genes in response to SsnB exposure (916 and 356 genes, respectively, with fold change ≥2, p<0.05, unpaired t-test). Microarray data from both cell types showed significant overlap, including genes associated with cell proliferation and cell cycle. Flow cytometric cell cycle analysis of HUVECs treated with SsnB showed an increase of cells in the G1 phase and a decrease of cells in the S phase. Cyclin E2 (CCNE2) and Cell division cycle 6 (CDC6) are regulatory proteins that control cell cycle progression through the G1/S checkpoint. Both CCNE2 and CDC6 were downregulated in the microarray data. Real Time quantitative PCR confirmed that gene expression of CCNE2 and CDC6 in HUVECs was downregulated after SsnB exposure, to 64% and 35% of controls, respectively. The data suggest that SsnB may exert its anti-angiogenic properties in part by downregulating CCNE2 and CDC6, halting progression through the G1/S checkpoint. In the chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay, SsnB caused significant reduction in capillary length and branching number relative to the vehicle control group. Overall, SsnB caused a significant reduction in angiogenesis (ANOVA, p<0.05), demonstrating its ex vivo efficacy.     

MiR-216a: a link between endothelial dysfunction and autophagy

Endothelial dysfunction and impaired autophagic activity have a crucial role in aging-related diseases such as cardiovascular dysfunction and atherosclerosis. We have identified miR-216a as a microRNA that is induced during endothelial aging and, according to the computational analysis, among its targets includes two autophagy-related genes, Beclin1 (BECN1) and ATG5. Therefore, we have evaluated the role of miR-216a as a molecular component involved in the loss of autophagic function during endothelial aging. The inverse correlation between miR-216a and autophagic genes was conserved during human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) aging and in vivo models of human atherosclerosis and heart failure. Luciferase experiments indicated BECN1, but not ATG5 as a direct target of miR-216a. HUVECs were transfected in order to modulate miR-216a expression and stimulated with 100 μg/ml oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) to induce a stress repairing autophagic process. We found that in young HUVECs, miR-216a overexpression repressed BECN1 and ATG5 expression and the ox-LDL induced autophagy, as evaluated by microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3B) analysis and cytofluorimetric assay. Moreover, miR-216a stimulated ox-LDL accumulation and monocyte adhesion in HUVECs. Conversely, inhibition of miR-216a in old HUVECs rescued the ability to induce a protective autophagy in response to ox-LDL stimulus. In conclusion, mir-216a controls ox-LDL induced autophagy in HUVECs by regulating intracellular levels of BECN1 and may have a relevant role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disorders and atherosclerosis.     

Integrated bioinformatics analysis revealed the regulation of angiogenesis by tumor cells in hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the leading causes of cancer mortality, metastasis accounts for most of the cases. Angiogenesis plays an important role in cancer metastasis, but how tumor cells affect the function of endothelial cells by dictating their microRNA (miRNA) expression remains largely unknown.Differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) were identified through dataset downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and analyzed by GEO2R. We then used online tools to obtain potential targets of candidate miRNAs and functional enrichment analysis, as well as the protein-protein interaction (PPI). Finally, the function of miR-302c-3p was validated through in vitro assay.In the current study, we found that HCC cells altered miRNA expression profiles of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and miR-302c-3p was the most down-regulated miRNA in HUVECs when they were co-cultured with HCC-LM3 cells. Functional enrichment analysis of the candidate targets revealed that these genes were involved in epigenetic regulation of gene expression, in particular, cytosine methylation. In addition, PPI network demonstrated distinct roles of genes targeted by miR-302c-3p. Importantly, inhibition of angiogenesis, migration and permeability by the most down-regulated miR-302c-3p in HUVECs was confirmed in vitro. These findings brought us novel insight into the regulation of angiogenesis by HCC cells and provided potential targets for the development of therapeutic strategies.     

Maldevelopment of dermal lymphatics in Wnt5a-knockout-mice

Maintenance of tissue homeostasis and immune surveillance are important functions of the lymphatic vascular system. Lymphatic vessels are lined by lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs). By gene micro-array expression studies we recently compared human lymphangioma-derived LECs with umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Here, we followed up on these studies. Besides well-known LEC markers, we observed regulation of molecules involved in immune regulation, acetylcholine degradation and platelet regulation. Moreover we identified differentially expressed WNT pathway components, which play important roles in the morphogenesis of various organs, including the blood vascular system. WNT signaling has not yet been addressed in lymphangiogenesis. We found high expression of FZD3, FZD5 and DKK2 mRNA in HUVECs, and WNT5A in LECs. The latter was verified in normal skin-derived LECs. With immunohistological methods we detected WNT5A in LECs, as well as ROR1, ROR2 and RYK in both LECs and HUVECs. In the human, mutations of WNT5A or its receptor ROR2 cause the Robinow syndrome. These patients show multiple developmental defects including the cardio-vascular system. We studied Wnt5a-knockout (ko) mouse embryos at day 18.5. We show that the number of dermal lymphatic capillaries is significantly lower in Wnt5a-null-mice. However, the mean size of individual lymphatics and the LEC number per vessel are greater. In sum, the total area covered by lymphatics and the total number of LECs are not significantly altered. The reduced number of lymphatic capillaries indicates a sprouting defect rather than a proliferation defect in the dermis of Wnt5a-ko-mice, and identifies Wnt5a as a regulator of lymphangiogenesis.     

Hepatoma-Derived Growth Factor-Related Protein-3 Is a Novel Angiogenic Factor

Hepatoma-derived growth factor-related protein-3 (Hdgfrp3 or HRP-3) was recently reported as a neurotrophic factor and is upregulated in hepatocellular carcinoma to promote cancer cell survival. Here we identified HRP-3 as a new endothelial ligand and characterized its in vitro and in vivo functional roles and molecular signaling. We combined open reading frame phage display with multi-round in vivo binding selection to enrich retinal endothelial ligands, which were systematically identified by next generation DNA sequencing. One of the identified endothelial ligands was HRP-3. HRP-3 expression in the retina and brain was characterized by Western blot and immunohistochemistry. Cell proliferation assay showed that HRP-3 stimulated the growth of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). HRP-3 induced tube formation of HUVECs in culture. Wound healing assay indicated that HRP-3 promoted endothelial cell migration. HRP-3 was further confirmed for its in vitro angiogenic activity by spheroid sprouting assay. HRP-3 extrinsically activated the extracellular-signal-regulated kinase ½ (ERK1/2) pathway in endothelial cells. The angiogenic activity of HRP-3 was independently verified by mouse cornea pocket assay. Furthermore, in vivo Matrigel plug assay corroborated HRP-3 activity to promote new blood vessel formation. These results demonstrated that HRP-3 is a novel angiogenic factor.     

TRAIL is a novel antiviral protein against dengue virus

Dengue fever is an important tropical illness for which there is currently no virus-specific treatment. To shed light on mechanisms involved in the cellular response to dengue virus (DV), we assessed gene expression changes, using Affymetrix GeneChips (HG-U133A), of infected primary human cells and identified changes common to all cells. The common response genes included a set of 23 genes significantly induced upon DV infection of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), dendritic cells (DCs), monocytes, and B cells (analysis of variance, P < 0.05). Tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL), one of the common response genes, was identified as a key link between type I and type II interferon response genes. We found that DV induces TRAIL expression in immune cells and HUVECs at the mRNA and protein levels. The induction of TRAIL expression by DV was found to be dependent on an intact type I interferon signaling pathway. A significant increase in DV RNA accumulation was observed in anti-TRAIL antibody-treated monocytes, B cells, and HUVECs, and, conversely, a decrease in DV RNA was seen in recombinant TRAIL-treated monocytes. Furthermore, recombinant TRAIL inhibited DV titers in DV-infected DCs by an apoptosis-independent mechanism. These data suggest that TRAIL plays an important role in the antiviral response to DV infection and is a candidate for antiviral interventions against DV.     

Inhibiting Extracellular Vesicle Release from Human Cardiosphere Derived Cells with Lentiviral Knockdown of nSMase2 Differentially Effects Proliferation and Apoptosis in Cardiomyocytes,Fibroblasts and Endothelial Cells In Vitro

Numerous studies have shown a beneficial effect of cardiosphere-derived cell (CDC) therapy on regeneration of injured myocardium. Paracrine signaling by CDC secreted exosomes may contribute to improved cardiac function. However, it has not yet been demonstrated by a genetic approach that exosome release contributes to the therapeutic effect of transplanted CDCs. By employing a lentiviral knockdown (KD) strategy against neutral spingomyelinase 2 (nSMase2), a crucial gene in exosome secretion, we have defined the role of physiologically secreted human CDC-derived exosomes on cardiac fibroblast, endothelial cell and primary cardiomyocyte proliferation, cell death, migration and angiogenesis using a series of in vitro coculture assays. We found that secretion of hCDC-derived exosomes was effectively inhibited by nSMase2 lentiviral KD and shRNAi expression was stable and constitutive. hCDC exosome release contributed to the angiogenic and pro-migratory effects of hCDCs on HUVECs, decreased proliferation of fibroblasts, and decreased apoptosis of cardiomyocytes. These in vitro reactions support a role for exosome secretion as a paracrine mechanism of stem cell-mediated cardiac repair in vivo. Importantly, we have established a novel tool to test constitutive inhibition of exosome secretion in stem cell populations in animal models of cardiac disease.     

Scutellarin promotes in vitro angiogenesis in human umbilical vein endothelial cells

Angiogenesis is critical to a wide range of physiological and pathological processes. Scutellarin, a major flavonoid of a Chinese herbal medicine Erigeron breviscapus (Vant.) Hand. Mazz. has been shown to offer beneficial effects on cardiovascular and cerebrovascular functions. However, scutellarin’s effects on angiogenesis and underlying mechanisms are not fully elucidated. Here, we studied angiogenic effects of scutellarin on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) in vitro. Scutellarin was found by MTT assay to induce proliferation of HUVECs. In scutellarin-treated HUVECs, a dramatic increase in migration was measured by wound healing assay; Transwell chamber assay found significantly more invading cells in scutellarin-treated groups. Scutellarin also promoted capillary-like tube formation in HUVECs on Matrigel, and significantly upregulated platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 at both mRNA and protein levels. Scutellarin’s angiogenic mechanism was investigated in vitro by measuring expression of angiogenic factors associated with cell migration and invasion. Scutellarin strongly induced MMP-2 activation and mRNA expression in cultured HUVECs in a concentration-dependent manner. Taken together, these results suggest that scutellarin promotes angiogenesis and may form a basis for angiogenic therapy.