Figure 3.

Rhein inhibited the synthesis of fibronectin in MCGT1 cells. Cells were cultured in medium with 8 mM glucose. The fibronectin mRNA level was analysed by real-time PCR and the result was normalized to β-actin and was expressed as fold change compared with that of control MCLacZ cells. The fibronectin protein level was measured by flow cytometric methods and the result shown as the value of mean fluorescence index (MFI). A much higher level of fibronectin mRNA and protein was found in MCGT1 cells, compared with that in MCLacZ cells (a and b). Treatment with 25 or 50 μg ml⁻¹ of rhein significantly decreased both the fibronectin mRNA and protein levels in MCGT1 cells (c and d). Each value represents the mean±s.e.mean of six samples. ^*P<0.01 vs MCLacZ cells.