Research Article
Simvastatin Mitigates Apoptosis and Transforming Growth Factor-Beta Upregulation in Stretch-Induced Endothelial Cells
Figure 5
NF-κB mediates TGF-β increase in ECs exposed to stretch induced by p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase/N-terminal kinase (P38MAPK/JNK). (a) Stretch activated the P38MAPK and JNK pathways and inactivated the Akt and ERK1/2 pathways in ECs, which was evaluated by Western blot analysis. (b) Stretch-treated ECs were pretreated with SB203580 (a P38MAPK inhibitor) or SP600125 (a JNK inhibitor), the expression of TGF-β was significantly decreased. (c) The nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) activity in stretch-treated ECs was evaluated by Western blot analysis. (d) Stretch-treated ECs were pretreated with SB203580 or SP600125, the phosphorylation of NF-κB was significantly inhibited. (e) The phosphorylation of NF-κB and TGF-β expression in stretch-treated ECs pretreated with PDTC was remarkably suppressed.
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