Fig. 1.

Effects of PAG, AOAA, and L-Asp on the viability and proliferation of human EC cells. (a) The MTS assay was used to determine the percentage of viable cells after treated with different concentration of PAG, AOAA, L-Asp alone or in combination. The cell viability of each group without PAG, AOAA, and L-Asp treatment was normalized as 100% and considered to be the control group. (b) The levels of H₂S after administration alone (10 mM PAG, 10mM AOAA, or 10mM L-Asp) or in combination were detected in EC cells. (c) Phase-contrast microscopy was used to observe the morphology of the indicated cells; original magnification × 200. (d) DNA replication activities of EC cells in each group were examined by EdU assay; original magnification × 200. (e) The proliferation rate of each group was analyzed. (f) The MTS assay was used to determine the percentage of viable cells. The cell viability of the control group was normalized as 100%. (g) The clonogenic capacity was determined in EC cells. (h) The number of colonies was calculated. The experiments were performed in triplicates. Data are presented as mean ± SEM. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01 compared with the control group; ^△△P < 0.01 compared with PAG group; ^★★P < 0.01 compared with AOAA group; ^##P < 0.01 compared with L-Asp group.