PTx decreases p42/44 MAPK activity, which is sufficient to reduce β-catenin/VE-cadherin interaction.
A and B, PTx (200 ng/ml, 6 h) significantly decreased p42/44 MAPK activation phosphorylation at Thr-202/Tyr-204 (A) as well as activation phosphorylation of the p42/44 MAPK downstream target ELK-1 at Ser-383 (B). C, inhibition of p42/44 MAPK by U0126 (10 μm, 6 h) reduced the amount of β-catenin bound to VE-cadherin. Bars, mean ± S.E. (error bars) of at least three independent experiments performed in duplicate. *, p < 0.05; ***, p < 0.001 (determined by ANOVA).