Figure 6

The involvement of the Smad and ERK pathways in carbachol-induced EMT in A549 cells. The TGF-β/Smad inhibitor (SB431542, 10 μM), the ERK inhibitor (U0126, 5 μM), pirenzepine (10 μM), or 4-DAMP (1 μM) was administered 1 h before stimulation with carbachol (1 μM). Cell lysates were assayed for EMT markers and GAPDH after incubation for 72 h (A). The expression of Smad2/3/p-Smad2/3 and ERK/p-ERK were detected after incubation for 1 h and 72 h, respectively. (B). Representative western blots are shown. Data are expressed as mean ± SEM of 4–6 independent experiments after densitometric analysis. ^# p < 0.05, ^## p < 0.01 vs. control; *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01 vs. carbachol.