Fig. 3

Dual JAK2/STAT3 gene silencing suppressed ATII to mesenchymal and fibroblast to myofibroblast transitions. ATII A549 and human lung fibroblast MRC5 cell lines were transfected with control siRNA(−), siRNA-JAK2, siRNA-STAT3, or both siRNA-JAK2/STAT3 and stimulated for 72 h with TG-Fβ1 or IL-6/IL-13 at a concentration of 5 ng/mL. a Total protein and RNA from cell lysates were analyzed by (a, b) western blot and (c) qPCR. Mesenchymal collagen type I and epithelial E-cadherin markers were measured using (a) western blot and (c) qPCR. Senescence p21, autophagy LC3I/II, and anti-apoptotic BCL-2 markers were (a) measured using western blot and (b) quantified by densitometry. Data are expressed as the ratio to β-actin protein and mRNA levels. The results are expressed as the mean (SEM) of n = 4 independent experiments per condition. One-way ANOVA followed by post-hoc Bonferroni tests. *P < 0.05 vs. the solvent controls; ^#P < 0.05 vs. TGF-β1 or IL-6/IL-13; ┴ P < 0.05 vs. siRNA-JAK2 or siRNA-STAT3