Fig. 1. TNFα suppresses the expression of KLF8.

(A) Contractile phenotype of VSMCs were stimulated with TNFα (50 ng/ml) for 4 days. Expression of contractile marker proteins were verified by the indicated antibodies. (B) Contractile cells were treated with TNFα (50 ng/ml) for the indicated times. Expression of KLF8 was verified by RT-PCR. (C) Contractile type of VSMCs were stimulated with TNFα (50 ng/ml) and PDGF (50 ng/ml), and promoter activity of KLF8 was examined as described in the “Materials and Methods” section. (D). Contractile type of VSMCs were pretreated with ERK inhibitor (PD, 10 µM) or p38 MAPK inhibitor (SB, 10 µM), and promoter activity of KLF8 was measured. Data are expressed as the mean±S.D. for three independent experiments (n=3 for each experiment). ^*Significantly different from values of vehicle-treated group (p<0.05).