Fig. 3.

Analyses of protein and mRNA levels in the atherosclerotic lesions of aortic roots. Expression of (a) TGF-β, (b) PI3K, (c) p-Akt and (d) p-eNOS proteins in aortic tissue, and densitometric analyses relative to β-actin. Expression of (e) TGF-β, (f) PI3K, (g) MMP-9, (h) VEGF, and (i) HIF1-α mRNAs in aortic tissue. *P < 0.05 compared with the normal group, #P < 0.05 compared with the atherosclerosis model group, N = 3 for each group; values are the mean ± SD. Akt, protein kinase B; eNOS, endothelial nitric oxide synthase; HIF1-α, hypoxia-inducible factor 1-α; MMP-9, matrix metallopeptidase; PI3K, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase; TGF-β, transforming growth factor-β; VEGF, vascular endothelial growth factor.