Figure 3.

ATP induces ethidium uptake by SCs. (a) Photomicrographs showing the morphological changes of SCs (phase contrast images) and ethidium fluorescence in SCs 20 min after exposure to various concentrations of ATP. Green arrows in the two photomicrographs for 3 mM ATP point to two fibroblasts. (b) Quantification of ethidium fluorescence intensities in SCs 20 min after exposure to various concentrations of ATP with or without oxATP (350 μM) or A438079 (100 μM) treatment. ⁺⁺⁺P<0.001 (compared with the group without ATP); ***P<0.001 (compared between the corresponding groups with and without one of the antagonists), single factor AVNOA, n=3. (c) Representative time course of ethidium uptake by SCs after exposure to different concentrations of ATP over 20 min