Fig. 1.
Involvement of AhR activation in PM2.5-induced cell migration ability and OPN and IL-6 expression in VSMCs. VSMCs were treated with d2H2O or 25, 50, and 100 μg/mL PM2.5 for 48 h. Migration abilities of VSMCs were quantified (A, B). VSMCs were treated with d2H2O or 25 μg/mL PM2.5 with or without 2.5 or 5 μM CH223191 for 48 h. Migration abilities of VSMCs were measured and quantified and are shown in (C). VSMCs were treated with d2H2O or 25 μg/mL PM2.5 with and without 5 μM CH223191 for 48 h. The following parameters were determined: D CYP1A1 and CYP1B1 relative mRNA levels; E OPN and IL-6 relative mRNA levels; and F OPN and IL-6 protein levels in the media. The results are presented as mean ± standard deviation (SD) for three independent experiments with 2–4 replicates in each experiment. *p < 0.05 compared with the d2H2O-treated cells (n = 3, one-way ANOVA). #p < 0.05 compared with the PM2.5-treated cells (n = 3, two-way ANOVA). Control: d2H2O treatment as control