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Figure 10 | Critical Care

Figure 10

From: Platelet-derived exosomes induce endothelial cell apoptosis through peroxynitrite generation: experimental evidence for a novel mechanism of septic vascular dysfunction

Figure 10

Exosomes cause reactive oxygen species/reactive nitrogen species-dependent caspase-3 activation in endothelial cells. Exosomes obtained from platelets exposed to saline (not shown) or thrombin did not cause caspase-3 activation above baseline in rabbit endothelial cells. In contrast, exosomes from septic patients (sepsis) or from platelets exposed to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or a nitric oxide donor (diethylamine-NONOate; NONOate) caused a doubling of caspase-3 activation over baseline, similar to the activation obtained by direct exposure of endothelial cells to 40 ng/ml TNF-α (+TNF-α). The membrane-permeable superoxide dismutase mimetic Mn(III) tetrakis (4-benzoic acid) porphyrin chloride (SOD) and Nω-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) completely blocked exosome-triggered caspase-3 activation. Results are means ± SD of three experiments for each group. *P < 0.05 versus control, †P < 0.05 versus untreated.

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