Fig. 8.

BMP4-induced astrocyte differentiation is inhibited by treatment with a Smad1 antisense ODN. A–D, Fluorescence images of GFAP staining in cerebellar cells plated at P6 and grown for 3 d in the absence or presence of BMP4 (10 ng/ml) and/or the antisense ODN (3.5 μg/ml). A, Control.B, Smad1 ODN-treated cells. C, BMP4-treated cells. D, BMP4- and Smad1 ODN-treated cells. The Smad1 ODN inhibited the BMP4-induced changes in morphology but had no effect by itself. E, Immunoblot of Smad1 expression in cells grown in the absence (control) or presence (antisense) of the Smad1 antisense ODN. The ODN caused similar decreases in Smad1 expression in four independent experiments.