Fig. 3

Caveolar disruption enhanced the VEGF-induced RhoA activation and MUC5AC up-regulation. PBECs were treated with VEGF (50 ng/ml) in the presence or absence of pretreatment with the caveolar-disrupting agent cyclodextrin (CD; 5 mM, 30 min) or filipin (2.5 g/ml, 30 min). Reversal of drug effects was sought with simultaneous cholesterol repletion (Chol; 15 g/ml) given at the time of cyclodextrin administration. RhoA activity was assessed by pull-down assay of GTP-bound RhoA (24 kDa) as described in Method (A). MUC5AC protein levels were assessed by Western blot (B). All data are representative of three independent experiments. The blots were quantified by densitometry. Values represent the means ± SEM. ^*P < 0.05 vs. control; ^# P < 0.05 vs. VEGF alone; n = 3