Figure 3.

Effect of matrine on the expression of p53, p21, and p27 proteins in cultured VSMCs examined with Western blot. The levels of cell cycle-related proteins in cultured rat aortic VSMCs were investigated after treatments with various doses of matrine (0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 mg/L) for 72 h. Rapamycin (100 ng/L) was as a positive control. (A) p53; (B) p21; (C) p27. Results were normalized by the respective level of β-actin. The changes in percentage of treatment control (0 mg/L matrine) were calculated. Data are expressed as mean±SEM. n=5/group, One-way ANOVA. ^bP<0.05, ^cP<0.01 vs treatment control.