Quercetin decreases proliferation (A) and induces apoptosis (B) in cultured PASMC from control rats.

<p>(A) PASMC proliferation was analyzed by the BrdU incorporation after 24 h of treatment with increasing concentrations of quercetin. Results are means ± SEM of 4–5 experiments. (B) Photographs of PASMC after 48 h treatment with quercetin in culture stained with the membrane permeable blue dye Hoescht 33258 (left, viable and non-viable cells) and with the membrane impermeable red dye propidium iodide (right, non-viable cells). (C) Magnified photographs of cells treated with 10 µM quercetin showing three apoptotic cells (top and middle cells) with chromatin condensation and nuclear fragmentation and two healthy cells (bottom).