Objective. To study the effect of interleukin 10 （IL- 10） on the angiotensin II （AngII） stimulated rat VSMC proliferation and collagen secretion

and furthermore

explore its mechanism. Methods. On cultured VSMC of rat

3H- thymine （3H- TdR） and 3H- proline incorporations were used to evaluate the DNA and collagen synthesis

respectively. Western blot and immunoprecipitation were applied to assay the expression and activity of focal adhesion kinase （FAK）

respectively. Results. IL- 10 （10－ 8～ 10－ 10g/ml） inhibited the increase of 3H- TdR and 3H- proline incorporation as well as FAK activity

which was induced by 10－ 7mol/L AngII （P< 0.05 or P< 0.01）. IL- 10 also obviously downregulated the synthesis and secretion of collagen by AngII stimulated VSMC. But there was no difference in the protein expression of FAK among all the groups （P >0.05）. Conclusion. IL- 10 antagonizes the VSMC proliferation and collagen synthesis by regulating FAK activity stimulated by AngII.