Table 3. Antifibrotic effects in cell-based assays.
| Reference | System | Fibroblast proliferation | ECM production | Fibrotic markers |
| Di Sario et al. [79] | Primary rat hepatic stellate cells | Inhibited PDGF-stimulated proliferation | Reduced TGF-β induced collagen I (protein and mRNA) | |
| Ozes and Blatt [80] | Human lung fibroblasts (HFL-1) | Reduced TGF-β induced collagen (protein) | ||
| Sulfab et al. [81] | Human unbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) | Reduced TGF-β stimulated fibronectin, collagen IV, and thrombospondin-2 proteins# | Reduced TGF-β stimulated ET-1, IGFBP-3 and TGF-β isoforms 1-3 | |
| Nakayama et al. [82] | Normal human lung fibroblasts (NHLF) | Reduced TGF-β induced collagen I expression (protein and mRNA) | Reduced TGF-β induced expression of the collagen chaperone HSP47 (protein and mRNA) | |
| Zhang et al. [83] | Human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells | Reduced TGF-β induced fibronectin (protein) production | ||
| Hewitson et al. [84] | Rat renal fibroblast isolated after ureteral obstruction (a mixture of fibroblasts and myofibroblasts) | Reduced fibroblast proliferation | Collagen protein production unaffected (slight reduction) | Reduced α-SMA and CTGF protein expression |
| Lin et al. [85] | Human tenon’s fibroblasts (isolated from eye and expanded) | Reduced serum-stimulated fibroblast proliferation. Increased population of G1-phase cells and decreased S-phase. | Reduced TGF-β1, -β2, and -β3 mRNA and protein expression; reduced fibroblast migration and collagen matrix contraction | |
| Lee et al. [86] | Human myometrial and leiomyoma smooth muscle cells (benign uterine fibroid tumour cells) | Reduced serum-stimulated fibroblast proliferation | Reduced collagen I and III mRNA expression |
Blank boxes denote end-points that were not assessed. All results statistically significant (per reference) with the exception of one treatment related trend (#). ECM: extracellular matrix; PDGF: platelet derived growth factor; TGF: transforming growth factor; ET: endothelin; IGFBP: insulin-like growth factor binding protein; HSP: heat shock protein; SMA: smooth muscle actin; CTGF: connective tissue growth factor; G1-phase: gap 1 phase; S-phase: synthesis phase.