Ang II induced the up-regulation of NFκB (A) and down-regulation of IκBα (B) in HBVSMCs. In addition, Ang II induced the release of TNF-α (C), MCP-1 (D) and IL-8 (E) from HBVSMCs. Ang-(1-7) counteracted these effects of Ang II, which could be aborted by A-779. **P< 0.01 vs. veh; ++P< 0.01 vs. Ang II, ##P< 0.01 vs. Ang II + Ang-(1-7), n=6/group. TNF-α: tumor necrosis factor; MCP-1: monocyte chemoattractant protein 1; IL-8: interleukin-8.