Fig. 2.

Rg3 ameliorates iE-DAP–induced EndMT in HUVECs. (A) Protein expressions of endothelial and mesenchymal markers. (B) Immunostaining images of VE-cadherin (VE-Cad), fibronectin (FN), N-cadherin (N-Cad), and smooth muscle protein 22 alpha (SM22α) after treatment with iE-DAP (20 μg/mL) in conjunction with or without Rg3 treatment (10 μg/mL) for 2, 4, and 6 d. The medium added with iE-DAP (20 μg/mL) and Rg3 (10 μg/mL) was changed every other day. Scale bar = 50 μm. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, and ***P < 0.001 compared with the controls, as determined by the unpaired two-tailed Student t test. Error bars, s.e.m. N = 3 experiments per condition.

EndMT, endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition; HUVEC, human umbilical vein endothelial cell; iE-DAP, γ-d-glutamyl-meso-diaminopimelic acid; Rg3, ginsenoside Rg3; s.e.m., standard error of the mean; VE, vascular endothelial.