Fig. 12.

Regulation of VSMC realignment in response to cyclic uniaxial stretch. Effects of inhibition of H₂O₂ (A; 1,200 U/ml catalase), inhibition of Notch3 activation (B; 50 μmol/l TAPI-1 or 20 μmol/l DAPT), or reduction of Notch3 expression (C; control or Notch3 siRNA) on stretch-induced realignment of VSMCs. Cell angles, relative to the stretch direction, were determined and sorted into the following groups: 0–10,11–20, 21–30, 31–40, 41–50, 51–60, 61–70, 71–80, and 81–90°. Data are expressed as percentages of the total cell number for each experiment and are presented as means ± SE; n = 3. Statistically significance differences compared with other cell angles within that group (***P < 0.001) and between control untreated stretched cells and all other groups (#P < 0.05; ##P < 0.01) are indicated.