Figure 5.

The effects of PD 98059, a selective inhibitor of p44/42 MAPK phosphorylation, and SB 203580, a selective inhibitor of p38 MAPK activity, on IL-1β-induced iNOS protein expression in VSMCs. Cells were stimulated with 3 ng ml⁻¹ IL-1β for 24 h in the absence or the presence of DHA (30 μM) and the inhibitors (10 μM) as indicated. iNOS expression was analysed by Western blot. (A) A representative blot image of an experiment. (B and C) Summary of densitometric analysis expressed as percentage taking each control (IL-1β alone and IL-1β plus DHA, respectively) as 100%. Each column represents mean±s.e.mean of four separate experiments. PD: PD 98059; SB: SB 203580. ^*P<0.05, ^**P<0.01 versus each control.