Fig. 2.

Ox-LDL activates Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway in HUVECs. Cells were treated as described in Fig. 1, and the protein (a) or mRNA (b) levels of β-catenin, Dvl-1 and Cyclin D1 in cells were analyzed by western blotting and quantitative real-time PCR, respectively. Cells were pre-incubated with 20 nM DKK-1 or 20 mM LiCl for 24 h, followed by exposure to 100 mg/L ox-LDL for 24 h. Protein (c) or mRNA (d) levels of β-catenin, Dvl-1 and Cyclin D1 were evaluated by western blotting and quantitative real-time PCR, respectively. All data are shown as the mean ± SD of at least 3 independent experiments. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01 versus the control group. ^# P < 0.05, ^## P < 0.01 versus the ox-LDL group. LiCl, an exogenous activator of Wnt/β-catenin pathway; DKK-1, an inhibitor of Wnt/β-catenin pathway; β-catenin, non-phosphorylated-β-catenin