Figure 8.

Effect of follistatin on pancreatic stellate cell (PSC) activation and collagen secretion. (A) Top panel: western blotting of α smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) in total homogenates of PSCs was carried out after 48 hours of incubation with the indicated amounts of follistatin. Follistatin reduced α-SMA expression of PSCs. Bottom panel: the blots were reprobed with anti-α-tubulin antibody. Expression of α-tubulin protein, examined as an internal control, was not altered by activin A. (B) Collagen secretion by PSCs into culture medium during 48 hours of incubation with the indicated amounts of follistatin was quantified with Sirius red dye. Results are expressed as per cent collagen concentration of control. Values are means (SEM) of three independent experiments (*p<0.05).