Fig. 3.

A: inverse relationship between expression of Nrf2 protein and vascular reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in aorta segments isolated from 3-, 18-, 24-, and 28-mo-old F344XBN rats. As a measure of vascular ROS production nuclear DHE fluorescence and release of H₂O₂ from the vascular tissues (assessed by the Amplex Red/horseradish peroxidase method) were quantified. The regression is significant for both indexes. B: relationship between vascular H₂O₂ production and mRNA expression of the NF-κB target genes ICAM-1 and IL-6. The regression is significant for both targets. C and D: inverse relationship between expression of GCLC (C) or NQO-1 (D) and expression of the NF-κB target genes ICAM-1 and IL-6 in aorta segments isolated from 3-, 12-, 18-, 24-, and 28-mo-old F344XBN rats. The regression is significant for each target.