Figure 7.

In vitro effect of cortisol on oxidative stress and endothelial function. H₂O₂ levels (A), sNOX2-dp levels (B), endothelin-1 levels (C), NO bioavailability (D) and p-ENOS/ENOS ratio (E) in HUVEC treated with different concentrations of cortisol (176 or 256 ng/mL) in the presence or not of a specific inhibitor of NOX2 (NOX2ds-tat, 10 µM). A representative image of a Western blot analysis of p-ENOS/ENOS (F). Data are expressed as mean ± SD; p values (**** p < 0.0001; *** p < 0.001; ** p < 0.01; * p < 0.05) are calculated with a non-parametric test (Kruskal–Wallis).