Figure 3.

Simvastatin decreases L6 myoblast viability in a time- and dose-dependent manner (A). Cytotoxicity was assessed by methylthiazoletetrazolium (MTT) assay in cells treated with simvastatin at different concentrations and at different time points indicated above. Data are mean ± SEM of (n = 4) independent experiments performed in triplicate, * p < 0.05 (compared to untreated cells at the same time point); (B) C-peptide protects against simvastatin-induced cytotoxicity assessed using MTT assay. Cells were incubated with varying concentrations of simvastatin (with or without 3 nM C-peptide) for 72 h. Data are presented as mean ± SEM of four independent experiments with each condition performed in triplicate, * p < 0.05; (C) pertussis toxin, PTX (100 ng/mL) inhibits the protective effect of C-peptide against simvastatin-induced cell death. Cytotoxicity was assessed using the MTT assay. Cells were treated for 72 h as indicated in the key on the figure. 3 nM scrambled human C-peptide was used as a negative control. Data are presented as % of the untreated control value (Cont) in each experiment. Values are mean ± SEM of three independent experiments performed in duplicate, * p < 0.05.