Figure 2 | Scientific Reports

Figure 2

From: Progesterone prevents epithelial-mesenchymal transition of ovine amniotic epithelial cells and enhances their immunomodulatory properties

Figure 2

P4 interferes with TGF-β secretion. (A) TGF-β content in culture medium collected from CTR and P4-treated oAEC, at passage 1 and 3 with or without the addition of RU-486. Data are the mean ± SEM, from n = 4 independent experiments performed in triplicate. (B) Western blot analysis of p-Smad 2, Smad 2/3 and GAPDH in CTR and P4-treated oAEC, at passage 3. Full-length blots are presented in Supplementary Figure 1. (C) Real-time qPCR analysis of EMT-related genes (Vimentin, Snail and Twist) in CTR and 25 µM P4-treated oAEC. The ΔΔCt values of passages 2 and 3 are calculated by normalizing the relative ΔCt values against the ΔCt values obtained from CTR and P4-treated oAEC at passage 1, respectively. (D) MMP-1, MMP-2 and MMP-13 mRNA expression in CTR and P4-treated oAEC at passage 1 and 3. Results are the mean ± SEM, from n = 4 independent experiments performed in triplicate. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01 and ***p < 0.001. Abbreviation: CTR, control cell; P4, progesterone; RU-486, mifepristone; p-Smad 2, phosphorylated Smad 2; MMP, matrix metalloproteinase.

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