Figure 4
Influence of hypoxia and mTOR inhibition by Rapa on the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) network in rat renal proximal tubular cells (RPTC). RPTC were incubated with Rapa under normoxic or hypoxic conditions. Expression of VEGF-A mRNA was analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR after 4 h (a) and after 8 h (b). Results were normalized to vehicle control (0 nM Rapa) at normoxia (set to 1.00). Normoxia n = 7–8, hypoxia n = 4. (c) VEGF-A protein measured with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in cell culture supernatants after 24 h normalized to total protein content. n = 9. (d) Expression of VEGF receptor 1 (VEGF-R1) mRNA quantified by real-time PCR after 8 h normalized to vehicle control (0 nM Rapa) at normoxia (set to 1.00). Normoxia n = 6, hypoxia n = 5. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001.
