Fig. 6.

TPE induces collagen-I synthesis via ANG II type 1 receptor (AT₁R) in PMCs. PMCs were incubated with TPE in the presence or absence of AT₁R antagonist (losartan) for 24 h, after which calpain and NF-κB activity were detected as described in materials and methods, and intracellular p-Akt, t-Akt, and IκB-α protein contents were measured by Western blots. A: changes in calpain activity in PMCs (n = 4). B, D, and F: representative immunoblots of collagen-I, p-Akt, t-Akt, and IκB-α proteins in PMCs. C: changes in relative density of collagen-I protein to GAPDH according to B (n = 5). E: changes in relative density of p-Akt protein to t-Akt and GAPDH according to D (n = 5). G: changes in relative density of IκB-α protein to GAPDH according to F (n = 5). H: changes in relative NF-κB activity (n = 4). Data are expressed as mean ± SE. *P < 0.05 vs. TPE.