Figure 2.

PA promotes HSCs activation, proliferation, migration and decreases its apoptosis through NLRP3 inflammasome activation. Primary HSCs (day 2) were exposed to PA (200 µM) with or without LPS (1 µg/mL) for 12 h. (A-F) Gene expression levels of fibrotic makers (aSMA, Collagen 1, CTGF, TIMP1, TGFβ and fibronectin) were determined; (G) protein level of aSMA and Collagen 1 was determined and relative expression level was evaluated by densitometric analysis; (H) HSCs cell viability over time was determined using CCK8 kit; (I) the migration was evaluated by invasion assay as described in methods; (J) HSCs apoptosis was evaluated by mRNA expression of Bax and caspase 3. Results are presented as mean ± standard error. *, P<0.05, **, P<0.01 and ***, P<0.001 compared with control (untreated). scale bar =100 µm.