Figure 4
From: The adipokine leptin modulates adventitial pericyte functions by autocrine and paracrine signalling
Effect of LEP silencing. Expression and phosphorylation levels of leptin-associated kinases in normoxic and hypoxic APCs (a), and effect of LEP (b) or LEPR (c) silencing on kinase phosphorylation in hypoxic APCs. Representative immunoblots of phosphorylated and total proteins are displayed. Bar graphs show the average of four biological replicates. *p < 0.05 vs. normoxia. (d–f) Silencing of LEP and its receptor in hypoxic APCs induces cell proliferation (d) and also exerts pro-apoptotic effects as assessed by the caspase activity assay (e) and the expression of BCL-2 and BAX (f). **p < 0.01 and ***p < 0.001 vs. scramble. (g) LEP silencing reduces the migratory activity of APCs in a scratch assay performed under hypoxia, however LEPR silencing was unable to induce significant changes in APC migration. Representative contrast microscopy images and bar graph showing average data. *p < 0.05 vs. scramble.
