Figure 3
From: Autocrine activity of soluble Flt-1 controls endothelial cell function and angiogenesis
sFlt-1 inhibits endothelial cell proliferation and VEGF receptor phosphorylation. (a) Cell proliferation after 48 hours of treatment in HUVEC infected with an adenovirus encoding sFlt-1 (Ad-sFlt1) or β-galactosidase control (Ad-βGal). Western blot demonstrating decreased Erk1/2 phosphorylation in HUVEC infected with Ad-sFlt-1 compared with Ad-β-gal control (insert). (b) Dramatic reduction of sFlt-1 release from HUVEC 24 hours after transfection with sFlt-1 siRNA. (c) Cell proliferation after 48 hours in sFlt-1 siRNA transfected HUVEC. (d) Western blot showing VEGF receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) phosphorylation at tyrosine 951 in HUVEC transfected with sFlt-1, or control siRNA. VEGFR-2 and β-actin were used as a loading control. Data are expressed as mean (± SEM) or representative of three or more independent experiments performed in triplicate. **P < 0.01 vs. control.