Fig. 3

TGFβ induces BMP8A expression and secretion in LX2 HSCs and in Huh7 cells. A Representative phase-contrast images. B mRNA levels of COL1A1 and TGFB1 determined by RT-qPCR and normalized to 36B4 gene expression. C Representative blot of cell lysates with αSMA and COL1A1 antibodies. Ponceau staining as loading control. D Representative phase-contrast images. E mRNA levels of BMP8a determined by RT-qPCR and normalized to 36B4 gene expression. F Representative blot of CM with BMP8A antibody. Ponceau staining as loading control. As positive control ( +), HEK293 whole cell lysate was used. Experimental conditions: LX2 or Huh7 cells treated with TGFβ 10 ng/ml for 24 h (n ≥ 3 independent experiments performed by duplicate). Huh7, human hepatocyte-derived cell line. LX2, human HSC line. CM, cultured media. Data are expressed as fold increase relative to control condition (C, 1) and presented as mean ± SEM. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01 and ****p < 0.0001 TGFβ vs. C