Treatment of vascular smooth muscle cells (vSMCs) with TNF-α alters expression of syndecan-1 (sdc-1) and the absence of syndecan-1 in syndecan-1 knockout (S1KO) increases the expression of inflammatory cytokines by vSMCs.

<p>The cells were treated with 20/mL TNF-α for 48 hours. (A) Treatment of WT mouse cells with TNF-α reduces gene expression of sdc-1. (B) Baseline expression of IL-6 was lower in S1KO vSMCs but higher after stimulation with TNF-α. (C) Higher MCP-1 gene expression in S1KO vSMCs relative to WT vSMCs after stimulation with TNF-α. *Statistically significant difference with WT cell group under similar culture conditions. †Statistically significant difference with non-TNF-α treated WT cell group. ‡Statistically significant difference with non-TNF-α treated S1KO cell group.