Figure 8. mAECs response to TNF-α and MMP-9 inhibition.
A-B) Mouse aortic endothelial cells (mAECs) were cultured with 75 μg/mL of Ac-SDKP, C16, or the combination of C16 and Ac-SDKP peptides for 72 hours with MMP-9 inhibitors (5 μM) or TNF-α antibodies as soluble TNF-α inhibitors (5 μg/mL). A) MMP-9 activity was measured by zymography. B) MMP-9 activity was quantified by densiometry using Image J and normalized to the average activity of no peptide/no inhibitor treatment. C) mAECs were cultured on growth factor reduced matrigel for 6 hours before imaging tube formation. Images are representative of 4 replicate experiments. Scale bar = 100 μm. Data are means ± SEM. *p<0.05 vs. no peptide in same condition (no inhibition or TNF-α inhibition); †p<0.05 between groups connected by lines; ‡p<0.05 vs. no inhibition with same peptide treatment (Tukeys' Range Test).