Activation of vitamin D receptor promotes VEGF and CuZn-SOD expression in endothelial cells

•VDR expression is inducible in endothelial cells (EC).•Oxidative stress down-regulates VDR expression.•Inhibition of VDR reduces VEGF and CuZn-SOD expression.•1,25(OH)2D3 promotes EC angiogenic and anti-oxidative activity in EC. Endothelial dysfunction associated with vitamin D deficiency has been linked to many chronic vascular diseases. Vitamin D elicits its bioactive actions by binding to its receptor, vitamin D receptor (VDR), on target cells and organs. In the present study, we investigated the role of VDR in response to 1,25(OH)2D3 stimulation and oxidative stress challenge in endothelial cells. We found that 1,25(OH)2D3 not only induced a dose- and time-dependent increase in VDR expression, but also induced up-regulation of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its receptors (Flt-1 and KDR), as well as antioxidant CuZn-superoxide dismutase (CuZn-SOD) expression in endothelial cells. We demonstrated that inhibition of VDR by VDR siRNA blocked 1,25(OH)2D3 induced increased VEGF and KDR expression and prevented 1,25(OH)2D3 induced endothelial proliferation/migration. Using CoCl2, a hypoxic mimicking agent, we found that hypoxia/oxidative stress not only reduced CuZn-SOD expression, but also down-regulated VDR expression in endothelial cells, which could be prevented by addition of 1,25(OH)2D3 in culture. These findings are important indicating that VDR expression is inducible in endothelial cells and oxidative stress down-regulates VDR expression in endothelial cells. We conclude that sufficient vitamin D levels and proper VDR expression are fundamental for angiogenic and oxidative defense function in endothelial cells.