Fig. 4.

Activation of pancreatic stellate cells (PSC) during the course of cerulein-induced chronic pancreatitis. α-Smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) was used as a marker of PSC activation. A: representative Western blots of α-SMA in pancreatic extracts show marked increases in α-SMA expression with repetitive cerulein treatment. Histone deacetylase (HDAC2) was used as a loading control. B: densitometric analysis of α-SMA protein expression after repetitive cerulein treatment. Although there was a trend toward more α-SMA expression in cerulein-treated AT1a −/− mice, this difference was not significant. Data are means of 8 mice per group ± SE, *P < 0.05.