Figure 2.
NiONPs cause collagen-1 deposition and production of αSMA by upregulating collagen-1 and αSMA mRNA transcriptions in human fetal lung fibroblasts. (A-D) Human fetal lung fibroblasts were exposed to NiONPs suspensions with concentrations of 0, 0.25, 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 μg/cm2 for 24 h. (E-H) Time-dependent experiments were conducted with 1 μg/cm2 NiONPs for various time points. (A, C, E, G) mRNA transcriptions of collagen-1 and αSMA were detected by qPCR, normalized to GAPDH and (B, D, F, G) Protein levels of collagen-1 and αSMA were determined by western blot and normalized to GAPDH. The value was expressed as fold changes relative to controls. *p<0.05, **p<0.01 compared with control. Results were represented as mean ± SEM at least three independent experiments.