Figure 5.

Connexin 43 (Cx43) levels are reduced in TGF-β₁-treated HBFs in response to fenofibrate administration. (A) HBFs were cultured in DMEM supplemented with TGF-β₁ (5 ng/mL) in the absence or presence of FF (25 μM) for seven days. Cellular content of Cx43 was measured by in-cell ELISA and (B) Western blot analyses of total cellular lysates. Representative immunoblots are presented; bar graphs show the relative optical density of densitometrically quantified Cx43 protein levels in relation to GAPDH as a housekeeping protein. (C) HBFs were cultured in DMEM supplemented with TGF-β₁ (5 ng/mL) in the presence or absence of FF (25 μM) for seven days and immunostained for Cx43 (red) and DNA (blue). Representative images are presented. Scale bar = 25 µm. (D) Levels of Cx43 were identified using fluorimetry analyses and presented in relation to the control signal of DNA. 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. Note that fenofibrate significantly reduces the level of Cx43 in TGF-β₁-treated HBFs.