Figure 3.

Argon preconditioning induces the transcription of heat shock protein (HSP) B1 (HSP27), superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). Eight hours after argon preconditioning, mRNA was isolated, and RT-PCR was performed. mRNA levels were normalized to glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) and the relative quantity (RQ) values were calculated according to the ΔΔCt method. Data represented means ± SEM of at least 13 independent experiments. *, p < 0.05 and ***, p < 0.001.