FIG. 6.

G6PD knockdown reduced KCl- and U46619-induced CA contraction. (A–D) Transfection of a targeted siRNA into CAs reduced G6PD expression (A; blot is representative of eight experiments) and activity (B; n = 8) and NADPH levels (C; n = 8). (D, E) G6PD knockdown (D; immunohistochemistry of four experiments; magnification 4 × ) decreased G6PD expression and reduced superoxide levels in same tissue (E: representative of dichlorofluorescein fluorescence on the left & bright field on the right of four experiments; magnification: 20 × oil). (F–H) CA contractions evoked by KCl (F; 30 mM; n = 8), U46619 (G; 100 nM; n = 8), and PDBu (H; 10 μM; n = 5) were significantly reduced by transfection with G6PD-specific siRNA, as compared to CAs transfected with NT siRNA and UT controls. Ad, adventitia; BF, bright field; DHE, dihydroeithidium; Lum, lumine; Med, media. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article at www.liebertonline.com/ars).