Fig. 6

The inhibitory effects of SiNPs on the expression and junctional continuity of VE-cadherin in HUVECs. a and b, western blots of VE-cadherin in HUVECs before (control) and after exposure to SiNPs (100 μg/mL) for 24 h and the semi-quantitative results, respectively (n = 3). Both SiNP-20 and SiNP-100 decreased VE-cadherin expression. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01 vs. control. c, confocal images of VE-cadherin in HUVECs culture. VE-cadherin presented at the cell-cell junctions. Both SiNP-20 and SiNP-100 exposure for 2 h deteriorated the conformation and integration of VE-cadherin in the endothelial junctions, and VE-cadherin even disappeared at some junctional areas. Scale bar = 20 μm. d, confocal images showing that NAC (a ROS scavenger) improved the SiNPs (2 h)-induced changes of VE-cadherin in HUVECs cultures. In addition, HUVECs exposed to SiNPs for 2 h showed larger sizes compared with control HUVECs, and NAC restored the cell size. Scale bar = 20 μm