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. 2019 Jul 17;25(13-14):1013–1022. doi: 10.1089/ten.tea.2018.0182

FIG. 6.

FIG. 6.

Effect of TGF-β on morphology of cultured renal tubule cells. Smad2 phosphorylation was more pronounced in cells grown on gels with modulus of 10 and 40 kPa than in those grown on more elastic gels (A). Cells cultured on 1 kPa substrates formed rounded colonies of cells, unless TGF-β was added to culture medium, in which case cells formed more spread out confluent sheets (B; blue: DAPI; red: acetylated tubulin). Similarly, cells grown on 40 kPa substrates formed flat sheets, unless an inhibitor of TGF-β, SB431542 10 μM (Sigma) as added to culture medium, in which case cells formed rounded colonies (A). Murine renal proximal tubule cells also showed a stiffness-dependent culture morphology, but deletion of the TGF-β receptor 2 on those cells blocked the spreading effect of increased stiffness (C). The deletion of TGF-β receptor 2 in these murine proximal tubule cells was sufficient to block Smad2 phosphorylation, indicating that the deletion was successful (D). TGF, transforming growth factor.