Figure 6.

The basic domain of Tat is essential for enhancing the FGF-2–induced activation of pERK, Rho-A, and pMLC2 and increasing the expression of MMP-9 in cultured podocytes. (A) Western blot analyses showing representative results in podocytes transiently transfected Tat-WT (WT) or Tat-BDM1 (BDM1) for 44 hours. Transfected cells were subsequently treated with FGF-2 (50 ng/ml) for 5 minutes and processed for the signaling studies. (B) The graph shows mean±SEM corresponding to five samples per group. Results are expressed in arbitrary OD units as a ratio of the total activity or normalized for β-actin for the MMP-9 expression. Values significantly different from the corresponding control group are marked: *P<0.05; **P<0.01.