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. 2013 May;182(5):1572–1584. doi: 10.1016/j.ajpath.2013.01.026

Figure 5.

Figure 5

Down-regulation of FRNK expression potentiates TGF-β1–driven fibrotic responses in normal human lung fibroblasts. A: Serum-starved primary normal human lung fibroblasts were infected with siRNA toward FRNK or nontargeting control siRNA. FRNK down-regulation by FRNK siRNAs was confirmed by using Western blot analysis (data not shown). Fibroblasts were treated with or without 10 ng/mL TGF-β1 and subjected to a wound closure cell migration assay in serum-free medium with 1% BSA (SFM) for 24 hours. Exogenous FRNK expression was mediated by Ad-FRNK, and Ad-GFP was used as a control. Data are plotted as the percentage of wound area covered over 24 hours relative to that in untreated cells in SFM. Data are given as means ± SE. ∗P < 0.01. B: Primary normal human lung fibroblasts were treated as described in A, and equivalent amounts of whole cell lysate were examined for activation of FAK and Rac, and for myofibroblast differentiation (by α-SMA).