Research Paper Volume 13, Issue 11 pp 15638—15658

Figure 7. The miR-203-3p/Ctss/p38/MAPK axis mediates the progression of AS in vitro. BMDMs were treated with NC mimic or miR-203-3p in the presence of green-fluorescent protein (GFP) or rAd-Ctss. (A, B) The proportion of foam cells in BMDMs by oil red O staining (200 ×). (C) Serum TC, FC and CE levels determined by ELISA. (D, E) BMDM migration evaluated by Transwell assay (200 ×). BMDMs were treated with PBS or DCexs in the presence of GFP or rAd-Ctss. (F, G), The proportion of foam cells in BMDMs by oil red O staining (200 ×). (H) Serum TC, FC and CE levels determined by ELISA. (I, J) BMDM migration evaluated by Transwell assay (200 ×). (K, L) Protein expression of genes related to the p38/MAPK signaling pathway tested by Western blot analysis in response to the treatment of NC mimic or miR-203-3p in the presence of green-fluorescent protein (GFP) or rAd-Ctss. (M, N) Protein expression of genes related to the p38/MAPK signaling pathway tested by Western blot analysis in response to the treatment of PBS or DCexs in the presence of GFP or rAd-Ctss. The results for the inflammation-related proteins IL-1β and caspase 1 were derived from additional independent experiments. ^* p < 0.05 vs. the BMDMs treated with NC mimic or PBS plus GFP. ^# p < 0.05 vs. the BMDMs treated with miR-203-3p mimic or DCex plus GFP, or NC mimic or PBS plus rAd-Ctss. Statistical data were measurement data, and described as mean ± standard deviation. The one-way analysis of variance was adopted for comparisons among multiple groups, followed by Tukey’s post hoc test. The experiment was repeated 3 times independently.