Fig. 5.

ECM gene expression after long-term cyclic circumferential strain. A: mSMLC collagen type I, collagen type III, collagen type IV, fibronectin, and elastin gene expression after 6 days of long-term circumferential strain in serum-deprived media. Gene expression was determined using quantitative real-time RT-PCR (strain conditions in red and static equivalents in light red). B: confocal images comparing mSMLC (i) and Con-vSMC (ii) elastin deposition without strain and mSMLC elastin deposition (i) and alignment (iv) after circumferential strain for 6 days. C: mSMLC collagen type III deposition after circumferential strain for 6 days. All graphical data are reported as means ± SE. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, and ***P < 0.001.