Fig. 4.

Contribution of HCAEC and HCASMC to basal and FSS-stimulated PLGF expression in cocultures. PLGF expression was knocked down using siRNA in HCAEC or HCASMC. PLGF knockdown was confirmed by real-time PCR in HCAEC (A; n = 5) and HCASMC (B; n = 5). *P < 0.01. Medium was sampled immediately prior to exposure to 2 h of high FSS and 24 h thereafter. WT, wild-type; siSCR, negative control scrambled siRNA; siPLGF, PLGF siRNA. C: in cocultures containing siPLGF-treated HCAEC (siEC) but wild-type HCASMC (wtSMC), PLGF was significantly decreased compared with levels in untreated cocultures (n = 5) and failed to increase in response to FSS. *P < 0.001. Cocultures with negative control scrambled siRNA-treated HCAEC showed a slight, but significant, decrease in preshear PLGF levels compared with untreated cells (n = 5); however, exposure to high FSS significantly increased PLGF as expected (n = 5). *P < 0.001; †P < 0.05. D: in cocultures containing wild-type HCAEC and siPLGF-treated HCASMC (siSMC), there was a significant increase in total PLGF protein in the medium compared with untreated cocultures (n = 5). *P < 0.001. PLGF was further increased by exposure to high FSS in both negative control scrambled siRNA- and siPLGF-treated groups compared with static untreated controls (n = 5) and the corresponding preshear values for each treatment condition (n = 5). *P < 0.001; †P < 0.05.