Figure 12 Effect of retinol on ethanol induced α smooth muscle actin (α‐SMA) expression in pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs). (A) Representative western blot showing α‐SMA expression in PSCs incubated with culture medium alone (Cont) or with 50 mM ethanol (E50) in the presence or absence of retinol (Rol) for five days. (B) Densitometry analysis of western blots showing a significant increase in α‐SMA expression in PSCs when treated with ethanol (n = 3 separate cell preparations; **p<0.01) compared with controls. Rol significantly decreased basal α‐SMA expression (n = 3 separate cell preparations; †p<0.02 Rol v Cont) and prevented the ethanol induced increase in α‐SMA expression in PSCs (n = 3 separate cell preparations; ††p<0.01 E50 v E50+Rol).