Additional file 3: Figure S3. of Pigment epithelium-derived factor alleviates endothelial injury by inhibiting Wnt/β-catenin pathway

Wnt/β-catenin pathway mediates ox-LDL-induced apoptosis in HUVECs. HUVECs were pretreated with 20 nM DKK-1 or 20 mM LiCl for 24 h in the presence or absence of incubation with 100 mg/L ox-LDL for 24 h. The morphological changes in apoptotic cells were observed with a microscope by SYTO-13/PI double-staining. Green staining denotes fluorescence from whole cells and red staining denotes apoptotic cells visualized by PI. Representative images are shown. Scale bar = 100 μm. All data are shown as the mean ± SD of 6 independent experiments. * P < 0.05, ** P < 0.01 versus the control group. # P < 0.05, ## P < 0.01 versus the ox-LDL group. LiCl, an exogenous activator of Wnt/β-catenin pathway; DKK-1, an inhibitor of Wnt/β-catenin pathway. (PDF 254 kb)