Fig. 4

Effect of puerarin on the levels of VCAM-1, NO and ET-1 in VSMCs. Cells were pre-treated with puerarin at different concentrations (0, 12.5, 25, 50 μM) or p38 MAPK inhibitor SB203580 (20 μM) for 1 h and followed by the addition of 200 mg/L PM2.5 for 24 h. a VCAM-1 level was measured by ELISA. b ET-1 level was determined by radioimmunoassay. c No level was evaluated by nitrate reductase method. The results are presented as mean ± SEM. n = 3. Compared to the untreated cells, ^*P < 0.05, ^**P < 0.01; compared to 200 mg/L PM2.5 group, ^#P < 0.05, ^##P < 0.01; compared to the co-incubation of puerarin with SB203580 group, ^▲P < 0.05, ^▲▲P < 0.01