Figure 1. TGF-β₁ and DNMT inhibitor induced the expression of collagen type I (COL1A1).

Untreated cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) were cultured until near confluence was reached, and then starved for 12 h in serum-free DMEM. CFs were stimulated with 10 ng/mL of TGF-β₁, 30 µg/mL of TGF-β-neutralizing antibody, 10 ng/mL TGF-β₁+5 µM 5-aza-dC and 5 µM 5-aza-dC for 48 h. (A) Collagen type I (COL1A1) mRNA was determined via quantitative real-time PCR. (B) Cell-associated collagen type I was determined via Western blot. (C) Secreted collagen type I was determined via ELISA. Data are presented as mean ± SD (n = 3). *P<0.05, **P<0.01 (relative to the respective control).