Research Paper Volume 14, Issue 19 pp 8046—8060

Palmitic acid inhibits vascular smooth muscle cell switch to synthetic phenotype via upregulation of miR-22 expression

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Figure 3. miR-22 inhibitor abolished the effects of PA on VSMC phenotype switch. (A) MiR-22 inhibitor decreased the miR-22 levels in VSMCs. (B, C) The proliferation of VSMCs transfected with miR-22 inhibitor or/and 200 μM PA. (D, E) The apoptosis of VSMCs transfected with miR-22 inhibitor or/and 200 μM PA. (F) The expression of apoptosis associated markers in VSMCs transfected with miR-22 inhibitor or/and 200 μM PA. (G) The migration of VSMCs transfected with miR-22 inhibitor or/and 200 μM PA determined by transwell assay. Scale bar=100 μm. (H) Western blot analyses showing that expression of SM22α, calponin, SMMHC, vimentin, collagen I, and osteopontin in PA-treated VSMCs transfected with miR-22 inhibitor. n = 3. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01.