Figure 4.

NiONPs-induced collagen-1 and αSMA expressions are TGF-ß1 dependent. (A-C) 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. TGF-ß1 expression was detected by qPCR (A) and western blot (B) and normalized to GAPDH. (C) The levels of P-Smad3 was determined by western blot and normalized to GAPDH. (D-G) Human fetal lung fibroblasts were treated with 10 nM SB431542 (TGF-β receptor I kinase (ALK5) inhibitor) and 2 μg/cm² NiONPs simultaneously for 24 h. Collagen-1 and αSMA expressions were analyzed by qPCR and 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.