Fig. 1

TGF-β1 induces EndoMT in HKGECs. a Morphological changes in HKGECs induced by TGF-β1 (10 ng/ml) were examined using phase contrast microscopy. b Indirect immunofluorescence staining and co-localization of VE-cadherin and α-SMA were performed in HKGECs cultured in Endothelial Cell Medium with TGF-β1 (10 ng/ml). c Morphological changes in HKGECs induced by TGF-β1 (20 ng/ml) were examined using phase contrast microscopy. Cells were counterstained with DAPI to visualize nuclei (blue). d Indirect immunofluorescence staining and co-localization of VE-cadherin and α-SMA were performed in HKGECs cultured in Endothelial Cell Medium with TGF-β1 (20 ng/ml). e Indirect immunofluorescence staining of CD31, vimentin, and N-cadherin was performed in HKGECs cultured in Endothelial Cell Medium with TGF-β1 (10 ng/ml). f Respective western blot analysis and quantitation of CD31, α-SMA, VE-cadherin, N-cadherin, and vimentin in HKGECs treated with TGF-β1 (10 ng/ml). β-actin was used as a loading control. g Snail mRNA expression from HKGECs cultured in Endothelial Cell Medium with TGF-β1 (10 ng/ml) was quantified using real-time PCR. Gene expression levels were normalized to human GADPH mRNA. Original magnification × 200. Data are expressed as mean ± SEM with n ≥ 3 for each experimental group, *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01. Morphological and immunofluorescent are representative of experiments repeated 3 times