Figure 3.

Gel contraction assay. BAECs were cultured on a plate for 7 days in the absence or presence of 3 ng ml⁻¹ TGFβ₁, and harvested by trypsinization. Cells were then embedded in collagen gels that were overlaid with the same culture media. BASMCs were also embedded in collagen gels. Cell images in the gels after 3 days are shown in (a). Scales, 50 μm. ATP (10 μM)-induced contractions of these gels were assessed by measuring the surface area of the gels (b, n=6–8). See Materials and methods for a detailed protocol.