Figure 2.

Rho-associated coiled-coil forming kinase (ROCK) inhibition downregulates mRNA expression of myofibroblast (MF) markers in FLS1 cells. (A) FLS1 cells were cultured with or without the ROCK inhibitor Y-27632 (10 µM) for 6 h. Then, the relative expression levels of MF markers α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA; left graph of A), and α1 chain of collagen type I (colIα1; right graph of A) were evaluated using RT-qPCR. Data represent the means ± SD (n=3). ^*P<0.01 and ^**P<0.05 are indicative of statistical significance. (B) FLS1 cells were cultured with or without Y-27632 (10 µM) for 6 h. Levels of filamentous actin (green) in FLS1 cells were evaluated using immunofluorescence analysis. Nuclei were stained with DAPI (blue) (scale bar, 50 µm). FLS, fibroblast-like synoviocytes.