Fig. 3.

Effect of TGF-β on intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and IL-6 release. ASMCs were incubated with TGF-β (1 ng/ml) for different times over a 72-h period (A) or 240-min period (B). At the end of the stimulation period cells were incubated with 2′-7′-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (10 μM) and fluorescence was measured at 485/530 nm and normalized to changes in cell number as determined by methylthiazolyldiphenyl-tetrazolium bromide assay. Data shown represent relative fluorescence units normalized for cell number and are expressed as fold change with respect to unstimulated control. Bars represent means ± SE of 3 ASMC donors (A) and 5 ASMC donors (B). *P < 0.05 and **P < 0.01 compared with unstimulated control.