Figure 6.

Protein expression of TGF-β/Smads signaling in MCT-treated rat lungs assessed by Western blotting. A significant increase occurred in TGF-β1 (A) and p-Smad2 (B) expression in rats treated with MCT, either alone or together with pCB6 empty vector. However, in MCT-treated rats receiving pCB6-2J2, TGF-β1 and p-Smad2 protein levels were increased. Results are representative of three independent experiments. Blots were scanned, and relative TGF-β1 (C) and p-Smad2 (D) were normalized to β-actin and Smad2, respectively. Data shown are mean ± SEM of 6–8 rats/group. *P < 0.05 versus control. ^#P < 0.05 versus MCT + pCB6.