Figure 5.

Anti-apoptotic effect of ticagrelor mediated by adenosine receptors. Five minutes prior to 10 µM ticagrelor treatment, HUVECs were treated with different adenosine antagonists. Thirty minutes after ticagrelor treatment, cells were exposed to simulated hypoxia for 2 h. The involvement of adenosine receptors was studied using a non-selective adenosine receptor antagonist (1 µM CGS15943) and selective receptors antagonists of A2A (10 µM SCH442416), A2B (0.1 µM MRS1754) and A3 (10 µM MRS1191) receptors. Data are means ± sem (n = 6/group) of relative cleaved caspase 3 expressions (%) in HUVECs after 2 h of hypoxia. £: p < 0.05, ££: p < 0.01, compared to 10 µM ticagrelor group. **: p < 0.01, compared to control without treatment.