Objective: Sepsis is the major causes of morbidity and mortality,but the detailed molecular mechanism remains to be studied.The local injury of vessel wall,especially the endothelial layer lining the lumen of the vessel was considered to be the initial step in the process of sepsis.Berberine was an isoquinoline alkaloid isolated from several traditional Chinese herbal medicines and has a potential anti-inflammatory activity.In this study,we investigated the protective effect of berberine against LPS-induced apoptosis in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and elucidated its molecular mechanisms.