FIG. 7.

HFC-derived P-αSMA cells decrease αSMA expression in response to bFGF. P-αSMA cells were seeded at 10³ cells/cm² and cultured in the presence or absence of bFGF (2 ng/mL). On day 7, the percentage of ZsGreen+ cells (A) and mean green fluorescence intensity (B) of ZsGreen+ cells were measured by flow cytometry. All values are the mean ± SD of triplicate samples in a representative experiment (n = 3). (C, D) P-αSMA cells were fixed, permeabilized, and stained mouse anti-αSMA followed by incubation with Alex Fluor 647-R-phycoerythin goat anti-mouse secondary antibody. The percentage of cells and the level of αSMA expression were measured by flow cytometry. (C) Percentage of αSMA+ cells and (D) mean green fluorescence intensity of αSMA+ cells. All values are the mean ± SD of triplicate samples in a representative experiment (n = 3). (E) P-αSMA cells were cultured in the presence of bFGF (2 ng/mL) for 5 days before embedding in fibrin gels that were allowed to compact in DMEM with 10% FBS alone or supplemented with bFGF (2 ng/mL) or TGF-β1 (2 ng/mL). The percentage of initial hydrogel area was plotted over time. All values represent the mean ± SD of triplicate samples in a representative experiment (n = 3). Symbols (*) and (^#) denote significant difference (p < 0.05) between bFGF- and FBS- or bFGF- and TGF-β1-treated hydrogels, respectively, at the indicated time point.