Fig. 8.

VEGF replicates hypoxic effects on MLC₂₀-SMαA colocalization. Organ culture of normoxic arteries with 3 ng/ml of VEGF increased MLCK-SMαA and MLC₂₀-SMαA colocalization. For MLCK-MLC₂₀ colocalization, VEGF had no significant effect on their colocalization coefficient (top). Similarly, immunohistochemistry images, enhanced for brightness at a value of 60, show corresponding changes (bottom). These results show that VEGF replicates hypoxic effects on MLC₂₀-SMαA colocalization, suggesting that VEGF could mediate hypoxic alteration of contractile protein interaction in a highly protein-specific manner. Data here are presented as means ± SE for n ≥ 5 for all experimental groups. Comparative significant differences: *P < 0.05 via ANOVA.