Figure 4. JNK promotes hepatic stellate activation and proliferation.

A–B. Primary mouse HSCs were pretreated with SP600125 (5 µM), inhibitor VIII (16 µM) or vehicle (0.1% DMSO) followed by TGFβ (2 ng/ml) treatment. c-Jun phosphorylation (A) and αSMA expression (B) were determined by immunoblot 60 minutes and 48h after TGFβ treatment, respectively. C. HSCs were isolated from αSMA-RFP mice, pretreated with JNK inhibitors or vehicle for 24h and treated with TGFβ (2 ng/ml) for 48h followed by Hoechst 33342 staining and quantification of RFP expression. D–E. One day after isolation, primary mouse HSCs were pretreated with JNK inhibitors or vehicle (see above) followed by treatment with AngII (10⁻⁷ M). c-Jun phosphorylation (D) and αSMA expression (E) were determined by immunoblot 20 minutes and 48h after AngII treatment, respectively. F. HSCs from αSMA-RFP mice were pretreated as described above followed by treatment with AngII for 48h and evaluation of RFP expression.