Figure 6.

In primary human coronary arterial endothelial cells, H₂O₂ (3 and 10 μmol/L), high glucose (30 mmol/L), and oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL; 5 μg/mL) significantly increased apoptotic cell death as shown by the increased caspase-3/7 activity (see Materials and Methods section; *p < .05 vs untreated control). Control cells were transfected with a scrambled nonsense DNA (scr). siRNA knockdown of Nrf2 (siRNA targeting Nrf2) significantly augmented endothelial apoptosis induced by H₂O₂, high glucose, and oxLDL (#p < .05 vs respective treated control). Data are mean ± SEM (n = 6 in each group).