(A–B) HASM cells were incubated with 10 µM DHEA-S (18 h), 1 µM dexamethasone (18 h) or 30 µM LY294002 (40 min) prior to stimulation with 1 ng/ml PDGF (10 min). Phosphorylation of Akt and ERK1/2 was assessed by immunoblotting. Total COX-4 was used as a loading control. (C-D) HASM cells were incubated with 10 µM DHEA-S (18 h) prior to stimulation with 1 ng/ml PDGF (2, 5 and 30 min). Phosphorylation of Akt, ERK1/2, p38 MAPK, and PKC was assessed, using total COX-4 as a loading control. Data is representative of three independent experiments in three different cell lines.