FIGURE 6

FIGURE 6

Crocetin and crocin inhibited the activation of VEGFR2 and its downstream signaling pathways. HUVECs were starved for 2 h and then pretreated with crocetin (10, 20 and 40 μM) or crocin (100, 200 and 400 μM) for 4 h before being stimulated by VEGF (50 ng/ml) for 15 min. Western blot assay was used for investigating the expression levels of the major proteins involved in VEGF-mediated angiogenesis signaling in HUVECs. Crocetin and crocin down-regulated the expression levels of (A) p-VEGFR2 (B) p-SRC and p-FAK, and (C) p-MEK and p-ERK. Protein expression levels were quantified by densitometry. Results are percentages relative to control; means ± SD of three independent experiments (n = 3) are shown. Statistical analysis was performed by one-way ANOVA followed by Dunnett’s test. *p<0.05; **p<0.01 and ***p<0.001 versus VEGF treatment group. #p<0.05; ##p<0.01 and ###p<0.001 versus control group.