Figure 12.

Silencing Arg‐II or p53 in senescent VSMCs prevents H₂O₂ production and decreased Δψm as well as senescence and apoptosis. Young (Y) and senescent (S) VSMCs were transduced with either rAd/U6‐LacZ^shRNA or rAd/U6‐Arg‐II^shRNA as indicated. Seventy‐two hours posttransduction, the cells were subjected to (A) H₂DCF staining for detection of H₂O₂. B, JC‐1 staining for analysis of Δψm. C, SA‐β‐gal staining for senescent cells. D, Annexin‐V‐FLUOS staining for apoptotic cells. Quantification of the signals is shown in the corresponding bar graphs (n=6). ***P<0.001 vs Y+LacZ^shRNA; †P<0.05, ††P<0.01 vs S+LacZ^shRNA. Scale bar=0.2 mm. Arg‐II indicates arginase‐II; VSMC, vascular smooth muscle cell; H₂DCF, 2′,7′‐dichlorofluorescein; SA‐β‐gal, senescence‐associated β‐galactosidase.