Figure 2

Effect of down-regulation of the RhoA/ROCK pathway on AGE-induced F-actin redistribution (A) and increased monolayer permeability (B, n = 3 ). HMVECs was transfected with dominant negative human RhoA (RhoA N19) for 24 h with or without exposure to AGE-HSA (50 mg/L) for 8 h. In other groups, cells were transfected with either constitutively activated human RhoA (RhoA L63) for 24 h, or were treated with a ROCK inhibitor (H-1152) at 0.5 h before AGE-HSA addition. Culture medium was used as control. Representative confocal images of F-actin organization and formation of stress fibers are shown. Similar results were observed in 3 different cultures. *P < 0.05 vs control, #P < 0.05 vs AGE-HSA.