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. 2020 Jan 23;52:102633. doi: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2020.102633

Fig. 4.

Fig 4

Role of SMAD2 signaling in FD-VECs. (a) Activation of SMAD2 signaling in FD-VECs. Western blot analysis showing increased p-SMAD2 in FD-VECs. The data are expressed as means ± SEM (n = 3). * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01. (b) Enhanced SMAD2 signaling in Activin A-treated WT-VECs. Activation of SMAD2 signaling increases the expression of TSP-1. (c) Expression of TSP-1 in Activin A-treated WT-VECs. Scale bar, 200 μm. (d) Down-regulation of SMAD2 signaling in FD-VECs by TGF-β inhibition. Treatment of FD-VECs with SB (SB431542) reduces p-SMAD2 and TSP-1, but increases KDR and eNOS. (e) Rescue of angiogenic dysfunction in FD-VECs by inhibition of SMAD2 signaling. Tube-like structures formed by FD-VECs recovered upon treatment with SB. Scale bar, 100 μm. The data are expressed as means ± SEM (n = 3). * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.001.