Figure 9.

CH does not alter pulmonary arterial EGFR (EGF receptor) expression, and EGF-induced activation of EGFR is unaffected by supplemental cholesterol or AP-Cav in arteries from CH rats. (A) Representative Western blots and (B) mean densitometric data for total EGFR normalized to β-actin in intrapulmonary arteries from control and CH rats. (C) Representative Western blots for phosphorylated EGFR (P-EGFR) and total EGFR in arteries from CH rats with and without cholesterol supplementation. Arteries were treated with EGF (100 nM) or vehicle to evaluate the effects of cholesterol supplementation on EGFR activation. (D and E) Mean densitometric data for P-EGFR normalized to total EGFR in arteries from CH rats treated with cholesterol or vehicle (D), or AP-Cav or AP-Scramb (E), in the presence or absence of EGF. Values are means ± SE of n = 5–8 rats/group. *P < 0.05 versus untreated.