Abstract: SU Fei, JIN Hong-zhong, LI Feng, SHU Dan. Department of Dermatology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100730, China Corresponding author: JIN Hong-zhong, Email: jinhongzhong@263.net 【Abstract】 Objective To investigate the effect of thalidomide on the proliferation of as well as the expression and secretion of vascular endothelial growth factor （VEGF） and tumor necrosis factor-alpha （TNF-α） by the human keratinocyte cell line HaCaT. Methods Cultured HaCaT cells were divided into several groups to be treated with dimethyl sulfoxide （negative control group） and various concentrations （0.01nmol/L － 100 μmol/L） of thalidomide （experimental groups） respectively for 20 to 24 hours. Subsequently, water soluble tetrazolium-1（WST-1） assay was performed to estimate cellular proliferation, real time quantitative PCR to detect the mRNA expression of VEGF and TNF-α in HaCaT cells, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） to quantify the protein expressions of VEGF and TNF-α in the culture supernatants of HaCaT cells. Statistical analysis was done by one-way analysis of variance with least significant difference post hoc test. Results The survival rate of HaCaT cells was 74.3%, 82.9% and 90.8% after 24-hour treatment with thalidomide of 100, 10 and 1 μmol/L respectively, significantly lower than that in the negative control group （100%, all P < 0.01）. A significant decrease was induced in the mRNA expression （0.439- to 0.634-fold change, all P < 0.01） and supernatant level （（0.587- to 0.923-fold change, P < 0.05） of VEGF in HaCaT cells by thalidomide of 0.01 － 100 nmol/L, as well as in the mRNA expression （0.493- to 0.587-fold change, P < 0.05） and supernatant level （0.408- to 0.617-fold change, P < 0.01） of TNF-α by thalidomide of 0.1 － 100 nmol/L. Conclusion Within a certain range of concentration, thalidomide could suppress the proliferation of, as well as the expression and secretion of VEGF and TNF-α by, HaCaT cells. 【Key words】 Keratinocytes; Thalidomide; Vascular endothelial growth factors; Tumor necrosis factor-alpha

Key words: Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha