Figure 6.

Effects of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) on Akt-TGIF signaling. (A) Representative western blots showing the phosphorylation and total protein levels of Smad2 and Smad3 in AdshRNA or AdshHGF or (B) in AdGFP- or AdHGF-infected cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) stimulated with 5 ng/ml TGF-β₁ for 48 h. (C–F) Phosphorylation and total protein levels of Akt and total protein of TGIF in AdshRNA- or AdshHGF-infected CFs stimulated with 5 ng/ml transforming growth factor-β₁ (TGF-β₁) for 48 h. (C and E) Representative western blots; (D and F) quantitative results. Three independent experiments were performed. ^*P<0.05 vs. AdshRNA or AdGFP/phosphate-buffered saline (PBS); ^#P<0.05 vs. AdshRNA or AdGFP/TGF-β₁.