Fig. 4.

Activity of MMP-2 and VEGF in the supernatant of medium in which ECs–SMCs were co-cultured. The activity was assayed by gelatin zymography method. Supernatant aliquots containing 150 μg of total protein were used. The establishment of ECs–SMCs co-culture system was described in the “Materials and methods” section. a Fg enhanced the activity of MMP-2 in the supernatant. b Fb enhanced the activity of MMP-2 in the supernatant, and the treatment of 50 μg/ml SN50, NF-κB inhibitor, showed inhibitory effect against this enhancement. c FDPs enhanced the activity of MMP-2 in the supernatant, and the treatment of 50 μg/ml SN50, NF-κB inhibitor, showed inhibitory effect against this enhancement. Data are presented as mean ± SD for four replicates (n = 4), which are a representative of three independent experiments. Bands digestibility = area of bands × (gray value of bands–gray value of background). ^# P < 0.05 and ^## P < 0.01, compared with the groups without Fg, Fb, or FDPs treatment; ^* P < 0.05 and ^** P < 0.01, compared with the groups without SN50 treatment