Figure 2. The role of the Rho GTPase pathway in the migration and proliferation of nicotine-induced VSMCs.

(a) Migration images. The number of cells, which is a measure of migration ability, was detected by a transwell migration assay Representative images at a magnification of 50X from three independent experiments are presented. (b) A histogram of the transwell assay results. (c) A histogram of the CCK8 assay results. The results are expressed as the mean ± SEM (*p < 0.05, n = 5). (d) Hematoxylin-eosin staining of the thoracic arteries from PBS- and nicotine-treated mice and a histogram of the median thickness of the thoracic arteries. The values are expressed as the mean ± SEM (*p < 0.05, n = 20 mice per group × 3 times).