Figure 6 | Laboratory Investigation

Figure 6

From: Increased expression of latent TGF-β-binding protein 4 affects the fibrotic process in scleroderma by TGF-β/SMAD signaling

Figure 6

Knockdown of LTBP-4 decreases TGF-β levels in the supernatant and suppresses phosphorylation of SMAD2 and SMAD3 in scleroderma skin fibroblasts. (a) The TGF-β level in the conditioned media of LTBP-4 knockdown fibroblasts and control group was tested by an ELISA kit and represented as mean±s.e.m. (b) Scleroderma skin fibroblasts were transfected with SBE luciferase reporter construct along with SV40 control vector and cultured in the absence or presence of LTBP-4 siRNA; the results are presented as mean±s.e.m. (c) SMAD2/3 and pSMDAD2/3 protein expression levels were assessed by western blot and GAPDH was used as a reference control for equal protein loading. (d) Densitometry data of the protein were analyzed in two groups represented as mean±s.e.m. **P<0.01. LTBP-4, latent TGF-β-binding protein 4; SBE, SMAD-binding element; TGF-β, transforming growth factor-β.

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