Figure 3.

Fenofibrate affects actin cytoskeleton architecture. (A) HBFs were cultured in DMEM supplemented with TGF-β₁ (5 ng/mL) in the absence or presence of FF (1–25 μM) for seven days. Then, the cells were fixed with 3.7% formaldehyde, permeabilized, and immunostained for actin (red) and DNA (blue). Representative images were selected and presented. Intensity of actin fiber fluorescence in sections is presented on plot profiles and quantified in graphs. Scale bar = 25 µm. (B) Cellular content of the selected focal adhesion proteins was measured by Western blots and (C) in-cell ELISA. Representative images of vinculin-rich focal adhesions are presented, (D) quantified and grouped by size. Data represent the mean ± SEM of five independent experiments in all analyses. Statistical significances were tested using one-way ANOVA with the Bonferroni multiple comparison post hoc test; * p ≤ 0.05; *** p ≤ 0.001. Note that fenofibrate affects the architecture of actin cytoskeletons and arrangement of focal adhesion maturation in the TGF-β₁-treated HBFs.