Effect of SB239063 and Z-VAD-FMK on caspase-3/7 activity in HUVECs.

<p>Cells were treated for 4 hours at 37°C and 5% CO₂ with 10 ng/ml IL-1ß or a mixture of 10 ng/ml IL-1ß and 10 µg/ml actinomycin D (ActD) in the presence and absence of 50 µM SB239063 or 50 µM Z-VAD-FMK. Caspase activity was determined as the rate of hydrolysis of caspase-3/7 specific fluorogenic substrate by HUVEC lysates. Data shown are the averages and standard deviations of four independent assays after normalization on caspase-3/7 activity in the cells treated with a mixture of IL-1ß and actinomycin D. IL-1ß had no statistically significant effect on caspase-3/7 activity in HUVECs (p-value >0.05, marked with a double pound key). Caspase-3/7 activity in the non-treated cells or the cells treated with IL-1ß was five-fold lower than the activity in the cells treated with a mixture of IL-1ß and actinomycin D (p-value <0.05, marked with asterisks). Z-VAD-FMK inhibited caspase-3/7 activity in HUVECs treated with IL-1ß and actinomycin D ten-fold (p-value <0.05, marked with an asterisk). SB239063 had not statistically significant effect on caspase-3/7 activity in HUVECs treated with IL-1ß and actinomycin D (p-value >0.05, marked with a pound key).