Combined SS and AGEs induce synergistic activation of three members of the MAPK subfamily in VSMCs.

<p><b>(A)</b> Western blot analysis showed phosphorylation and total levels of ERK1/2, JNK1/2, and p38MAPK in VSMCs in response to AGEs and SS. <b>(B)</b> Graph bars showed densitometry analysis of phosphorylated ERK1/2, JNK1/2, and p38MAPK normalized with total MAPKs. All the experiments were independently repeated three times and shown as mean±SEM. a above bars represented the p<0.05 compared to NC group, and b represented the p<0.05 compared to AGEs or SS group, n = 3 (a and b for p value<0.05).