Abstract: Objective To examine the effect of VEGF165 on expressions of JAGGED-1and NOTCH1 and the relationship between these expressions and epithelial- mesenchymal transition (EMT) induced by TGF-β1. Methods Cultured HK2 cells were incubated with TGF-β1(5μg/L) in the absence (group T) or presence (group T+V) of VEGF165 (100μg/L)，respectively. Expressions of α-SMA and JAGGED-1mRNA were assessed with RT-PCR and the protein expressions were assessed with Western Blot at different time points，respectively. In the other experiment, HK2 cells were divided into four groups: negative control, incubated with TGF-β1(5μg/L) along, with VEGF165 (100μg/L) along, or with TGF-β1(5μg/L) and VEGF165 at different concentrations (0.1, 1, 10, 100μg/L) for 24 hours. Confocal microscope was used to detect expressions of α-SMA and E-cadherin. Protein and mRNA expressions of α-SMA, JAGGED-1and NOTCH1 were assessed with RT-PCR and Western Blot, respectively. Results Protein expression of both α-SMA and JAGGED-1decreased significantly in group T+V at 24h and 48h when compared to group T (P<0.05). VEGF165 reversed TGF β1-induced inhibition of E-cadherin and promotion of α-SMA, JAGGED-1and NOTCH1 significantly (P<0.05). Conclusions The results of the present study indicated that VEGF165 may partially inhibits TGFβ1-induced EMT of HK2 cells in vitro, which is probably contributed to the repression of JAGGED-1and NOTCH1 expressions. Further study is still needed.

Key words: Vascular endothelial growth factor, Epithelial-mesenchymal transition, TGF-β1, Notch1, Jagged-1