Figure 1

Expression of survival factors and the effects of the TSP-1 mimetic peptide ABT-898 in vitro. A. siRNA inhibition reduced expression of CD36 in spontaneously immortalized rat granulosa cells (SIGC) in vitro, as observed using brightfield/darkfield immunofluorescence overlay and Western blotting. B. Western blotting revealed that CD36 knockdown cells had increased expression of survival factors (VEGF, pVEGFR2, Bcl-2, and pAkt, compared to WT SIGC, or those transfected with a scrambled RNAi sequence. * - denotes statistically different (p < 0.05) protein levels in CD36 knockdown cells compared to WT cells or those transfected with a scrambled sequence. C. ABT-898 significantly (p < 0.005) decreased SIGC proliferation and increased activated caspase-3 expression, while CD36 KD abrogated this effect. # - statistically different (p < 0.05) proliferation or apoptosis compared to the serum free (SF) treatment within that genotype; * statistically difference (p < 0.05) between WT and CD36 KD groups.