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. 2017 Sep 13;8:638. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2017.00638

Figure 4.

Figure 4

P2X7R activation stimulates collagen production in SSc dermal fibroblasts. Spontaneous, Bz-, LPS-, and Bz+LPS-induced PIP release in the culture medium of dermal fibroblasts from SSc patients and HC. Cells starved for 24 h were primed with LPS (1 μg/ml) or vehicle for further 24 h, and then stimulated with Bz (0.1 mM) for 30 min; cells were also stimulated with LPS alone (24 h). SSc patients, n = 6; HC, n = 5. Comparisons within SSc patients: RM-ANOVA, p = 0.0064; post-hoc two-tailed Tukey–Kramer test, *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01. Comparisons within HC: Friedman test (non-parametric RM-ANOVA), p = not significant. Comparison between SSc patients and HC: †p < 0.05, two-tailed Mann–Whitney test. SSc, Systemic sclerosis; HC, healthy controls; P2X7R, P2X7 receptor; B, baseline; Bz, 2′-3′-O-(4-benzoylbenzoyl)ATP; LPS, lipopolysaccharide; PIP, procollagen type I carboxy-terminal peptide; RM-ANOVA, repeated measures analysis of variance.