Figure 3.

Effects of the complement 3a receptor inhibitor, SB290157, on expression of the mRNAs of the phenotypic markers, (a) SM22α and (b) osteopontin, in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) from spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and Wistar–Kyoto (WKY) rats. Quiescent VSMCs from 3-week-old SHR and WKY rats were incubated without (control) or without 0.1 µmol/l SB290157 for 24 h. Total RNA was extracted and the abundance of SM22α and osteopontin mRNAs was evaluated by reverse transcription and PCR analysis. The ratio of abundance of each mRNA to 18S rRNA was evaluated by densitometric analysis. Data are means ± s.e.m. (n = 8 from two analyses). *P < 0.05 between indicated columns. mRNA, messenger RNA; rRNA, ribosomal RNA.