Figure 2. Expression of α-SMA in the direct co-culture system of activated HSCs with BM-MSCs as measured by immunocytochemistry. The expression of α-SMA showed that (A, B) activated HSCs and (C, D) activated HSCs with BM-MSCs by fluorescent immunocytochemistry. The expression of α-SMA in cells treated (A, C) with or (B, D) without TGF-β1. Nuclei were stained with DAPI. Merged immunofluorescence images of α-SMA (green) and DAPI (blue). (Scale bar, 75 µm). α-SMA, alpha-smooth muscle actin; HSCs, hepatic stellate cells; BM-MSCs, bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells; TGF-β1, transforming growth factor-beta 1; DAPI, 6-diamino-2-phenylindole.