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Figure 1 Experimental Protocol

Rats underwent 5 min of occlusion of the left coronary artery followed by 3 min of reperfusion. The control group was infused with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) 10 min before occlusion. In the reconstituted high-density lipoprotein (rHDL), apolipoproteinA-I (A-I), and 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-phosphatidyl-choline (POPC) groups, rHDL (6 mg/kg as A-I), A-I (6 mg/kg), or POPC (15 mg/kg) were infused instead of PBS. The L-NAME+rHDL, PD98059+rHDL, and wortmannin+rHDL groups were additionally injected with N-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester hydrochloride (L-NAME) (10 mg/kg), PD98059 (4 mg/kg), or wortmannin (16 µg/kg), respectively, 5 min before the infusion of rHDL. The L-NAME, PD98059, and wortmannin groups were identical to the L-NAME+rHDL, PD98059+rHDL, and wortmannin+rHDL groups except that rHDL was not administered. The animals were killed immediately after reperfusion for the collection of heart and blood samples. ECG = electrocardiogram; iv = intravenously.