Figure 6.

MG induces endothelial dysfunction through tight junction degradation and permeability destruction in bEND.3 cells. The protein expression levels of (a) occludin (n = 5), (b) claudin-5 (n = 4), and (c) ZO-1 (n = 3) were determined 24 h after treatment with 100–1000 μM MG by western blotting. (d) MG-exposed bEnd.3 cells were stained with an antibody against occludin, claudin-5, or ZO-1 and visualized by confocal microscopy. Scale bar: 50 μm. (e,f) Functional changes in endothelial permeability were measured by (e) an in vitro FITC-dextran permeability assay (n = 3–7) and (f) TEER measurements (n = 4) after MG treatment. Representative images are shown. Data are presented as mean ± SEM. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01 vs. control (CON).