Fig. 11.

Effect of the cytokine TNF-α and TNF-α antagonist on protein amount of aortic, uterine, and placental MMP-1 and MMP-7 in Preg and RUPP rats. Tissue homogenates of the aorta (A), uterus (B), and placenta (C) of Preg rats were treated with TNF-α (0.1 μg/ml) with or without TNF-α antagonist (0.1 μg/ml), and tissues of RUPP rats were treated with TNF-α antagonist for 48 h in organ culture. Tissues were homogenized and prepared for Western blot analysis using antibody to MMP-1 (1:1,000) or MMP-7 (1:1,000). Immunoreactive bands corresponding to MMP-1 and MMP-7 were analyzed by optical densitometry and normalized to β-actin to correct for loading. Bar graphs represent means ± SE; n = 6/group. *Significantly different (P < 0.05) from corresponding measurements in control nontreated tissues of Preg rats.