Figure 3.

H₂S alleviates HG-induced activation of ER stress response in HUVECs by activating PI3K/AKT/eNOS pathway. HUVECs were treated with 33 mM glucose (HG concentration), or pretreated with 400 μM NaHS before HG treatment, or pretreated with 20 μM 740 Y-P before HG treatment, or co-treated with 10 μM LY294002 and 400 μM NaHS prior to HG treatment, or treated with 400 μM NaHS alone, or treated with 20 μM 740 Y-P alone, or treated with 10 μM LY294002 alone or treated with 33 mM mannitol alone. The expression levels of ER stress markers were detected by Western blotting analysis. (A) Variations in the expression levels of ATF6, CHOP and BiP in the indicated groups. (B–D) Densitometry analysis of the results displayed in (A). Experiments were repeated three times. Data are presented as the mean ± standard error of the mean. **p < 0.01 compared with the control group; ^##p < 0.01 compared with the HG-treated group; ^▲▲p < 0.01 compared with the group pretreated with NaHS before HG treatment. Con, control group; HG, high glucose (33 mM); YP, 740 Y-P; LY, LY294002; MAN, mannitol.