Abstract:Objective:To explore the molecular mechanism of Tanshinone ⅡA in inhibiting oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) induced proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells and Warburg effect by regulating the PKM2/ EGFR signaling pathway. Methods: The human aortic smooth muscle cells were used as the research object. The negative control group,the ox-LDL control group and the low and high doses of Tanshinone ⅡA group(10、50 μg/mL) were respectively set up;MTT assay was used to detect the effect of Tanshinone ⅡA intervention on the proliferation of smooth muscle cells induced by ox-LDL, and flow cytometry was used to detect the changes in cell cycle; the changes in protein expression of pyruvate kinase isozyme type M2 (PKM2), phosphorylated epidermal growth factor receptor (pEGFR),active β-catenin,cyclin D1,Glut1 and LDHA protein was detected by Western blotting, and the levels of PKM2 mRNA were detected by fluorescence quantitative PCR; glucose consumption and lactic acid production were measured by spectrophotometry. Results: Tanshinone ⅡA inhibited the ox-LDL-induced cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner. The proportion of cells in G1 phase was elevated,and reduced in S phase and G2/M phase. Tanshinone ⅡA inhibited the expression of PKM2 by the regulation of proteins and transcriptional level, down-regulated the protein expression of pEGFR, active β-catenin, cyclin D1, Glut1 and LDHA, and reduced glucose uptake and lactic acid production. Conclusion:Tanshinone ⅡA can inhibit the ox-LDL-induced proliferation of smooth muscle cells and metabolic reprogramming by regulating PKM2-mediated EGFR.