NADPH Oxidase 4-Derived H₂O₂ Promotes Aberrant Retinal Neovascularization via Activation of VEGF Receptor 2 Pathway in Oxygen-Induced Retinopathy

Figure 3

Overexpression of Nox4 promotes endothelial tube formation and augments VEGFR2 activation in HRECs. HRECs were transduced with Ad-LacZ and Ad-Nox4 for 48 h and subjected to biochemical and functions analyses. (a) Expression of Nox4 was determined by Western blot analysis and semiquantified by densitometry. ; versusAd-LacZ. (b) Generation of extracellular ROS was measured by Amplex red assay. ; versus Ad-LacZ. (c) Tube formation of HRECs capacity was evaluated by Matrigel assay. Adenoviral-transduced HRECs were seeded on Matrigel for 6 h and tube numbers were counted from 3 random visual fields. versus Ad-LacZ. Results represent 3 independent experiments. (d-e) Phosphorylation of VEGFR2 (d) and ERK (e) induced by VEGF (50 ng/mL) was determined by Western blot analysis and semiquantified by densitometry. ; versus Ad-LacZ and or versus Ad-LacZ with VEGF.

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