Figure 4.

BMP-7 induces fibroblast apoptosis in scar tissues. (A) Effect of BMP-7 on apoptosis in scar tissues was evaluated using a TUNEL assay (magnification, ×400; scale bars, 50 µm). (B) The protein expression levels of apoptosis-associated proteins, BCL2, Bax and cleaved caspase-3 were assessed by western blot analysis, and protein levels were quantified by densitometric analysis. β-actin was used as a loading control. The results are presented as the mean + standard deviation (n=6), and are representative of three independent experiments. *P<0.05, **P<0.01 and ***P<0.001 vs. control group; ^#P<0.05 vs. untreated thermal injury group. BMP-7, bone morphogenetic protein-7; BCL2, B-cell lymphoma 2; Bax, BCL2-associated X.