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. 2022 Sep 1;26(5):347–355. doi: 10.4196/kjpp.2022.26.5.347

Fig. 4. ATF4 promotes proliferation, migration and phenotype switch of HASMCs by activating FGF21 transcription.

Fig. 4

HASMCs were transfected with si-NC, si-ATF4 or si-ATF4 + pcDNA3.1/FGF21 for 48 h before treatment of 100 nM Ang-II for 24 h. (A–C) RT-qPCR analysis and western blotting for assessing the efficiency of FGF21 overexpression in HASMCs. (D) CCK-8 assay for evaluating cell proliferative ability in each group. (E–G) Wound healing and Transwell assays for assessing cell migration in each group. Magnification for wound healing: ×40; magnification for Transwell: × 200. (H) Western blotting of SM22α and α-SMA protein expression in HASMCs of each group. ATF4, activating transcription factor 4; HASMCs, human aortic vascular smooth muscle cells; FGF21, fibroblast growth factor 21; NC, negative control; Ang-II, angiotensin II; RT-qPCR, real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction; CCK-8, cell counting kit-8. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, , ***p < 0.001.