Fig. 1.

TNF-induced expression PTX3 in HASMC is inhibited by a transcriptional inhibitor. a HASMC from five subjects and epithelial cells (Ep) were processed for total RNA extraction. PTX3 mRNA was detected by RT-PCR in HASMCs and human epithelial cells. b Serum-deprived HASMC from three donors were stimulated with TNF (10 ng/ml) for 2, 6, and 24 h. Time course effect of TNF (10 ng/ml) on PTX3 mRNA was assessed by quantitative real-time RT-PCR. c Cells were pretreated with Act D (5 μg/m) for 30 min before stimulation with TNF and harvested at 6 h. d Serum-deprived HASMCs were stimulated with TNF (10 ng/ml), medium or pretreated with Act D for 24 h. PTX3 protein release was assessed by ELISA. ***P < 0.001, *P < 0.05 compared with TNF alone or medium stimulated cells, respectively