Figure 4. Effect of Tβ4 on profibrotic genes under oxidative stress in cardiac fibroblasts.

Cells were treated with H₂O₂ in the presence and absence of Tβ4 and (A) CTGF, (B) Col-I and (C) Fibronectin mRNA expression was analyzed at 12 h and 24 h, respectively by qRT-PCR. Data represent the means±SE of three separate experiments. (D) Western blot analysis showed the protein expression of CTGF, Col-I and Col-III at 12 h and 24 h, respectively. GAPDH was used as a loading control for the experiment. (E) Graph shows the relative fold change in the protein expression of Bax, Bcl₂ and caspase-3, respectively by densitometry. Data represent means±SEM from 3 individual experiments. * denotes p<0.05, compared to controls while ^# denotes p<0.05 compared to the H₂O₂-treated group and ø denotes p>0.05, compared to controls.