Figure 4.

Altered expression of flotillin-1, flotillin-1 mRNA, and ROCK-2 mRNA in smooth muscle cells of rats fed a 1% cholesterol diet. (A, B) Western blot analysis showing increased protein expression of flotillin-1 in the internal carotid artery (ICA) from rats fed a cholesterol diet. β-Actin was used as a loading control. Three independent experiments were performed and representative data are shown. Values are shown as means+s.d. ^§§P<0.01. (C, D) Real-time PCR revealed increased flotillin-1 and ROCK-2 mRNA expression in the ICA from rats fed a cholesterol diet, but not in rats fed the β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) diet. All data are normalized to the glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) expression level. Results are shown as mean (s.d.) values from at least three independent experiments, with PCR analysis in each experiment performed in triplicate. ^#P<0.05.