Fig. 7

5-MTP suppresses the activation of p38 and CREB. A, B pp38 and (C-D) pCREB contents in aorta tissues from ApoE^−/− mice fed chow diet with saline (n = 5) or HFD with saline (n = 4) or L-5-MTP (n = 5) twice weekly for 20 wk were analyzed by immunohistochemistry. Negative control represents staining with a 2nd antibody. Representative microphotographs of (A) pp38 and (C) pCREB are shown. Immunopositive areas of (B) pp38 and (D) pCREB in the aorta tissues were quantified as a percentage of the total aortic area in each section. Data represent mean ± SEM. E–I. After pretreating VSMCs with different concentrations of L-5-MTP (E, F, 100 μM and G–I, 25 ~ 100 μM) for 30 min, cells were stimulated with Pam3CSK4 for 30 min. Cell lysates were immunoblotted with antibodies for pp38, p38, pCREB, CREB, pp65, p65, or β-actin. Densitometric analysis of immunoblots normalized to β-actin presented in (F) and (H, I). Data represent mean ± SD of at least 2 independent experiments. P < 0.05, P < 0.01, P < 0.001 determined by t-test or a one-way ANOVA