Fig. 2

Effects of plasma incubation on stimulated nitric oxide (NO) production in human umbilical cord vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). NO production was stimulated by the calcium ionophore A23187 (a) or by insulin (b) in HUVECs incubated in plasma from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with active nephritis (AN) and with inactive nephritis (IN), and from healthy controls (Ctrol). NO release was estimated from the area under the curve (AUC) of the fluorescent signal of 4,5-diaminofluorescein (DAF-2) for 30 min in HUVECs stimulated with the drug. Values are expressed as mean ± SEM (n = 5–6). ^** P < 0.01 vs Ctrol. ^# P < 0.05 vs AN-SLE