FIGURE 7.

HIP/PAP promotes proliferation, alleviates H₂O₂‐induced apoptosis, and antagonizes TGF‐β1‐induced EMT in A549 cells. rHIP/PAP accelerated A549 cell growth. ^* P < 0.05 vs the blank control (A). H₂O₂ treatment suppressed A549 cell viability in a concentration‐dependent manner over the range of 0 ‐ 400 μmol/L (B). Flow cytometry analysis showed that rHIP/PAP (125 ng/mL) alleviated H₂O₂ (200 μmol/L)‐induced apoptosis in A549 cells. ^# P < 0.01, vs the blank or rHIP/PAP group, ^* P < 0.05 vs the H₂O₂ group (C). qRT‐PCR (D) and immunofluorescence (E) demonstrated that rHIP/PAP markedly abolished the rhTGF‐β1‐induced upregulation of α‐SMA, vimentin, Col1A2, and Col3A1 and the downregulation of E‐cadherin in A549 cells, while not affecting the basal expression of these molecules. ^# P < 0.01, vs the blank or rHIP/PAP group, ^* P < 0.05 vs the rhTGF‐β1 group. Error bars indicate SD. Scale bars = 50 μm