Fig. 4: GPR39 knockout mitigates vascular apoptosis, oxidative stress and inflammation.
From: Targeting GPR39 in structure-based drug discovery reduces Ang II-induced hypertension
a Assessment of apoptosis marker proteins (Bax, Bcl-2, Caspase-3 and Cleaved caspase-3, n = 6) in aortic vessels. GAPDH was used as a loading control. b–d TUNEL, 8-OHdG, and DHE staining to visualize apoptosis and oxidative stress in the aortic vessels of mice from four groups (TUNEL, 8-OHdG, DHE: green; CD31: red; DAPI: blue; n = 6). White arrows highlight endothelial cells with elevated TUNEL, 8-OHdG, and DHE expression. Scale bar is 50 μm. e Nlrp3 protein levels in the aorta of the four groups (n = 6) were analyzed, with gray scales on WB images quantified using Image J. f–i mRNA expression levels of inflammatory markers (IL-1, IL-6, TNF-α and Nlrp3, n = 6) in the aortic vessels. Results are expressed as the mean ± SEM. Statistical significance is denoted as NS (not significant), *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, ****P < 0.0001.
