Fig. 1.

RXR activation inhibits AII-induced SM gene expression. SMCs were pretreated with either bexarotene (1 μM) or 9-cis retinoic acid (9-cis RA; 1 μM) for 24 hours and then stimulated with DMSO or AII (10⁻⁶ M) for 3 hours (RNA) or 48 hours (protein and luciferase assay). (A and B) Western blot demonstrating that bexarotene inhibits AII-mediated (A) calponin and (B) SM-α-actin (SMA) induction. (C) Western blot and (D) qRT-PCR showing that 9-cis retinoic acid and bexarotene inhibit induction of (C) calponin protein and (D) mRNA. For all Western blot analyses, β-actin was used as a loading control. Representative blots are shown; fold changes in densitometry measurements ± S.E.M. are shown in graphs. (E) Calponin-luciferase reporter assay demonstrating bexarotene blocks AII-induced transcription of calponin. *P < 0.05 versus serum-free medium DMSO.