Figure 4.

Role of RhoA-Rho kinase pathway in the SPC-induced phosphorylation of Smad2. (A) hASCs were transfected with the dominant-negative mutant of RhoA (DN-RhoA) or control vector and then treated with serum-free medium containing 2 µM SPC or vehicles for 4 days. (C) hASCs were treated with serum-free medium containing 2 µM SPC or vehicles in the absence or presence of 10 µM Y27632 for 4 days. Phosphorylation levels of Smad2 and expression levels of Smad2, α-SMA, and GAPDH were determined by Western blotting. (B, D) The densities of α-SMA were quantified and normalized to those of GAPDH. Data are expressed as mean ± SD (n = 4; ^*P < 0.05).