Figure 3.

Apelin improved AngII-induced ageing and reduced ROS production via AMPK/SIRT1 signaling pathway. A – SIRT1, AMPK, APJ were knocked down by siRNA transfection. At 24 h after transfection, the cells were treated with apelin (10^–8 M) for 1 h followed by exposure to AngII (10^–6 M) for an additional 24 h. Cell senescence was evaluated by SA-β-gal activity. Representative photomicrographs show SA-β-gal-positive cells (blue) in HUVECs. B – The level of intracellular ROS was assessed. Representative photomicrographs show ROS-positive cells (green) in HUVECs

The values are expressed as means ± SD of at least 3 independent experiments or 5 random fields of vision.^*P < 0.05 vs. control; ^#p < 0.05 vs. AngII; ^Δp < 0.05 vs. apelin + AngII