Advanced Glycation End Products Induce Proliferation and Migration of Human Aortic Smooth Muscle Cells through PI3K/AKT Pathway

Figure 4

Effects of AGEs on the proliferation and migration of HASMCs through the PI3K/AKT pathway. (a) Optical density at 450 nm, measured by CCK8 assay; HASMCs were pretreated with and without LY294002 (20 μM) and then treated with AGEs (10 mg/L) for 24 h ( in each group). (b) The expression of PCNA and Cyclin-D1 (PCNA and Cyclin-D1 are associated with cell proliferation, GAPDH was used as a loading control, in each group). (c) Migration of the HASMCs pretreated with and without LY294002 (20 μM) and then treated with AGEs (20 mg/L) for 24 h ( in each group). (d) The expression of MMP-9 and MMP-2 (MMP-9 and MMP-2 are associated with cell migration, GAPDH was used as a loading control, in each group). (e) F-Actin expression was measured through cytoskeleton staining (FITC-rhodamine phalloidin) and observed using a laser confocal scanning microscope. was defined as significant difference. was defined as significant difference compared with the AGE group.

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