Figure 2.

Expression of COX-2 and eNOS, but not Akt, is elevated in vasculature of mice with STZ-induced Diabetes. A, Lysates of MVBs obtained from mice treated with STZ or CTRL for the indicated times were immunoblotted with indicated antibodies. Time-dependent increase in COX-2 and eNOS expression in MVBs after STZ treatment in a representative immunoblot from three independent experiments. Lane 4, COX-2 purified protein, positive control. B, Mean ± sem of densitometric analysis for COX-2 and eNOS expression normalized for Akt expression for three independent experiments. Significant increases in protein expression were observed for COX-2 in MVBs of mice treated with STZ for 1 wk and COX-2 and eNOS in MVBs of mice treated with STZ for 8 wk (vs. CTRL, P < 0.05). Asterisks refer to significant differences found between indicated groups assessed by Student’s t test. C, Lysates from aortas of mice treated with vehicle control or STZ for the indicated times were immunoblotted with indicated antibodies. Representative immunoblots of experiments were repeated independently three times. D, Lysates of VSMCs from aortas of mice treated with vehicle control or STZ for the indicated times were immunoblotted with indicated antibodies. Representative immunoblots from experiments independently repeated three times are shown.