Fig. 2.

EW-7197 relieves hepatocellular fibrosis but has side effects. Hepatocellular fibrosis was induced by treating human hepatic stellate cell (LX-2) cells with transforming growth factor β (TGF-β; 2 ng/mL). (A, B) The ability of EW-7197 to restore the original state was tested by expressing fibrosis markers such as p-SMAD2/3, α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), and ColI. (C, D) Alpha mouse liver 12 (AML12) cells were treated with EW-7197 combined with TGF-β. (E, F) AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), extracellular signal-regulated kinase (Erk), and Akt activities were measured to determine the effect of EW-7197 treatment on the TGF-β non-canonical pathway. ^aP<0.05 vs. control (Con), ^bP<0.05 vs. TGF-β, ^cP<0.001 vs. Con, ^dP<0.001 vs. TGF-β.