FIG 4.

HCV core-induced SMAD1/5 phosphorylation and ID1 increase are inhibited by ALK1-Fc. HCV core from genotype 1a transfected into HepG2 cells was analyzed by Western blotting for induction of SMAD1/5 phosphorylation (A), ID-1 upregulation (B), and inhibition by ALK1-Fc. Actin expression status was determined and included as an internal control for comparison of protein expression and densitometric scanning. Statistical significance was analyzed using the two-tailed Student t test: *, P < 0.05; **P < 0.01.