Figure 1

Calpain-1 is activated in atherosclerotic plaques and cleaves α-fodrin. A, Plaque homogenates were processed for Western blotting, and the PVDF membrane was probed with an anti-proteolyzed α-fodrin Ab specific for the 150-kDa fragment produced by calpain activity. The membrane was subsequently stripped and re-probed with anti-α-tubulin Ab as a loading control. B, same as A, except that the PVDF membrane was probed with anti-calpain-1 large subunit Ab. The blots show 9 samples (the id number of each plaque is depicted above the lanes) of 29 analyzed. All 29 samples contained the 150 kDa α-fodrin fragment as well as the autolytic fragment of calpain-1.