Figure 5.

Inhibition of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)₁₆₅-induced phsospho-Akt (pAkt) activity by soluble Fas ligand (sFasL). Endothelial cells (ECs) were incubated with various concentrations of sFasL (1 to 50 ng/ml) in the presence of VEGF₁₆₅ (20 ng/ml) for 10 minutes. The pAkt and phospho-extracellular signal-regulated kinase (pERK) expression levels in the ECs were determined by western blot analysis. The data are a representative result of three independent experiments, and are expressed as the mean (± standard deviation) optical density ratio [pAkt/β-actin]. *P < 0.05 versus the VEGF₁₆₅-stimulated cells without sFasL.