Figure 2.

Loss of pten corresponds with increased α-SMA expression in fibroblasts. (A) Western blot of whole-cell lysates derived from serum-starved wild-type murine embryonic fibroblasts (wt) or embryonic fibroblasts from pten^−/− mice (pten^−/−) probed for α-SMA. Blots were stripped and reprobed for β-tubulin as a loading control. The results are representative of three independent experiments using three separate cultures of cells. (B) Indirect immunofluorescent analysis of serum-starved wt fibroblasts (left panel) or pten^−/− fibroblasts (right panel) labeled with anti–α-SMA antibody. Results are representative of two independent experiments. (C) The wt fibroblasts were growth-arrested and then treated with either serum-free media (SF) or 200 nM bisperoxo(pyridine-2-carboxyl)oxovanadate (bpV[pic]) for 24 h, lysed, and immunoblotted for α-SMA, phosphorylated Akt at serine-473 (S⁴⁷³ pAkt), and total Akt. Results are representative of three separate experiments.