Fig. 2

Combined stimulation with high glucose and hypoxia increases inflammation and oxidative stress in HUVECs. Cells were treated with high glucose (25 mM) or with combined exposure to high glucose and hypoxia. Glucose alone or combined stimulation with both factors significantly increased mRNA expression of IL-6 (a), IL-8 (b), ICAM-1 (c), MCP-1 (d) after 6, 12, 24, 48 h, and similarly increased protein secretion at 48 h (e), increased cell ROS production (f–h), increased MDA level (i), and reduced SOD activity (j) for 48 h compared with controls. n = 3; p < 0.05 and **p < 0.01 vs. control. #p < 0.05 vs. glucose. HG, high glucose; HG + Hypoxia, combined stimulus with high-glucose and hypoxia; NG, control