Figure 3.

The TGF-β1/Smad pathway is crucial for the triptolide-mediated inhibition of collagen production in cardiac fibroblasts. (A) Cells were treated as described in Figure 2. The cell lysate was analyzed via Western blot with antibodies against TGF-β1, Smad2/3, and phospho-Smad2^Ser465/467/3^Ser423/425 (p-Smad2/3). (B) Cells grown in dishes were treated with AngII (1 μM) and TP (10 μg/mL), alone or in combination and with or without TGF-β1 (10 μg/mL). The cell lysate was analyzed by Western blot with antibodies against Col-I, Smad2/3, and p-Smad2/3. Histograms represent the protein ratio normalized to GAPDH (n = 3). * p < 0.01 vs. medium; # p < 0.01 vs. AngII.