Research Paper
hucMSCs treatment prevents pulmonary fibrosis by reducing circANKRD42-YAP1-mediated mechanical stiffness
Figure 3. hucMSCs treatment repressed pulmonary fibrosis in TGF-β1-treated MRC-5 cells. (A) Immunofluorescence staining showed the spindle-shaped cells, enhanced cell proliferation, and a-SMA increase in the TGF-β1 group. hucMSCs treatment repressed a-SMA and cell proliferation. Blue indicates nucleus marked with DAPI, and red indicates a-SMA in cytoplasm. (B) Cell scratch assay monitored with an IncuCyte S3 instrument validated that the migration was promoted by TGF-β1 treatment and inhibited by hucMSCs treatment. (C) IncuCyte S3 instrument detected showed that TGF-β1 promoted cell proliferation compared with that in the normal group. hucMSCs treatment weakened cell proliferation compared with that in the TGF-β1-treated group. (D) Western blot analysis revealed that the expression of FAP1, S100A4, α-SMA, vimentin, collagen I, and III substantially decreased in the hucMSCs-treated group compared with that in the TGF-β1-treated group. Each bar represents the mean ± SD; n = 6; *p < 0.05.