Figure 1. Effects of PA, EPA and inhibitors of ACS and NF-κB on the expression of bone-related genes in HASMC.

HASMC were treated with PA (250 µM) for 1 day in the presence or absence of EPA (15 µM), triacsin C (Tri C; 2 µM) or hypoestoxide (Hypo; 100 µM). The expression of BMP-2, Msx2 and osteopontin (OPN) mRNAs was determined by real-time PCR and normalized to GAPDH. The control values are shown as 1.0. All values expressed by arbitrary unit (AU) are presented as the mean ± S.E. (n = 4). #p<0.05, ###p<0.001 vs. control, **p<0.01, ***p<0.001 vs. PA.