ADAM17 depletion in hVSMCs regulates FAS shedding and increases sensitisation to TIMP-3-dependent apoptosis.

<p>A. Western blot for ADAM17 (A17) or FAS in hVSMCs (Cont), infected with lentivirus conferring puromycin resistance alone (Puro), control non-targeting shRNA (shCont) or shRNA targeting ADAM17 (A17-3 and A17-4). ADAM17 is the middle band, flanked by non-specific bands. B. Soluble FAS levels measured by ELISA in cell medium after 72 h from cells in A. Data are means ± SEM, n = 3. *** = P < 0.001, NS = Not Significant. C. Caspase-3 activity in hVSMC lysates from cell transduced with lentivirus expressing control shRNA or ADAM17 targeting shRNA (A17-3 and A17-4) infected with 300 pfu cell^-1 RAd60 or RAdT3-expressing adenovirus. Data are means ± SEM, n = 3. * = P < 0.05, ** = P < 0.01, NS = Not Significant. D. Quantification of surface FAS by single cell image analysis, data shows the mean number of spot-like FAS surface structures per cell, data are means ± SEM, n = 3. * = P < 0.05, *** = P < 0.001.