Fig. 3.

CGRP reduced the levels of apoptotic molecules in EPCs. Cells were serum starved for 24 h or 48 h with or without CGRP (10^− 8–10^− 12 M), and the expression level of caspase-3 protein was determined with Western blot (a). The transcriptional levels of apoptotic-related genes, including caspase-3, caspase-8, caspase-9, Bax and Bcl-2, were analysed by q-PCR (b-f). Data represent the means ± SEM of three experiments. * p < 0.05 compared with control