Figure 4.

Statins suppress TGF-β2-induced MYPT1 phosphorylation in astrocytes from human ONH. Serum-starved astrocytes were incubated with TGF-β2 (5 ng/mL) for the indicated periods without (A, B) or with (C, D) prior incubation with simvastatin, lovastatin, and atorvastatin (5 µg/mL) for 1 hour followed by TGF-β2 (5 ng/mL) for 30 minutes. Control cells without statins were incubated with DMSO (0.1%). Phosphorylated MYPT1 at T696 was assessed in cell lysates by western blotting. Data are presented as fold changes relative to DMSO controls. Phosphorylation of MYPT1 induced by TGF-β2 within 30 minutes persisted for 6 hours (B, ^*P < 0.05 vs. untreated; n = 3). Prior incubation with each statin suppressed TGF-β-mediated MYPT1 phosphorylation (D, ^*P < 0.05 vs. TGF-β2 + DMSO; n = 3).