Fig. 6

TGF-β1-induced increased α-SMA staining in endothelial cells from bleomycin-treated lungs. a Shown are representative fluorescence microscopy images of endothelial cells from bleomycin-treated lungs, cultured with or without TGF-β1. The α-SMA (green) and CD31 (red) stained images were merged with those showing a nuclear stain (Hoechst, blue). b Comparison of the percentage of α-SMA positive endothelial cells from saline and bleomycin-treated lungs, cultured with or without TGF-β1. Cells were imaged and images captured with IX83 and the percentage of α-SMA positive cells expressed as the percentage of total cell number, estimated from Hoechst 33,342 nuclear staining. The percentage of α-SMA positive cells was significantly elevated in cells from bleomycin-treated lungs and in any endothelial cells treated with TGF-β1, compared with in the corresponding controls. TGF-β1 treatment further enhanced the percent of α-SMA stained cells in lung endothelial cultures from bleomycin-treated mice. Data are means ± standard error, from three to four mice. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01