1. Evidence for low-density lipoprotein–induced expression of connective tissue growth factor in mesangial cells 
Mimi Sohn, Yan Tan, Richard L. Klein, Ayad A. Jaffa 
Kidney International 
Volume 67, Issue 4, Pages (April 2005)
DOI: /j x
Copyright © 2005 International Society of Nephrology Terms and Conditions

2. Figure 1
Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) stimulates the regulation of collagen I protein in mesangial cells. Quiescent mesangial cells were stimulated with 50 μg/mL of LDL for 24 hours. Cell proteins were separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and immunoblotted with antibodies against collagen I (1:1000) and actin (1:1000). Bar graph represents intensities of collagen I bands relative to actin and expressed as percent above control. Blots shown are representative of 22 experiments. *P < vs. control.
Kidney International  , DOI: ( /j x)
Copyright © 2005 International Society of Nephrology Terms and Conditions

3. Figure 2
Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) stimulates the regulation of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) in mesangial cells. Quiescent mesangial cells were stimulated with 50 μg/mL of LDL for 24 hours. Cell proteins were separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) (12%) and immunoblotted with an antibody against CTGF (1:1000) and actin (1:1000). Bar graph represents intensities of CTGF bands relative to actin expressed as percentage above control. Blots shown are representative of 23 experiments. *P < vs. control.
Kidney International  , DOI: ( /j x)
Copyright © 2005 International Society of Nephrology Terms and Conditions

4. Figure 3
Induction of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) protein secretion by low-density lipoprotein (LDL) in mesangial cells. Quiescent mesangial cells were stimulated by LDL (50 μg/mL) for 24 hours. Conditioned media were collected and activated to determine the total level of TGF-β1 protein, using colorimetric enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit assay. Values are means ± SE of TGF-β1 levels expressed in pg/mL (N = 26). *P < vs. control.
Kidney International  , DOI: ( /j x)
Copyright © 2005 International Society of Nephrology Terms and Conditions

5. Figure 4
Induction of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) and collagen I by transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β). Mesangial cells were treated with various concentration of TGF-β 1 (0, 0.2, 0.5, 1, 5, and 10 ng/mL) for 24 hours. (A) Cell proteins were separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) (12%) and immunoblotted with an antibody against CTGF (1:1000) and actin (1:1000). Bar graph represents intensities of CTGF bands relative to actin expressed as percentage above control. Blots shown are representative of five separate experiments. *P < 0.05 vs. control. (B) Cell proteins were separate by SDS-PAGE (7.5%) and immunoblotted with an antibody against collagen I (1:1000) and actin (1:1000). Bar graph represents intensities of collagen I bands relative to actin expressed as percentage above control. Blots shown are representative of three separate experiments. *P < 0.05 vs. control.
Kidney International  , DOI: ( /j x)
Copyright © 2005 International Society of Nephrology Terms and Conditions

6. Figure 5
Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) induces connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) and collagen I expression via autocrine activation of transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β). Mesangial cells were stimulated with 50 μg/mL of LDL or 5 ng/mL of TGF-β1 for 24 hours in presence or absence of 5 μg/mL of neutralizing anti-TGF-β antibody (TGF-β NA). (A) Equal amounts of proteins were resolved on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) (12%) and immunoblotted with an antibody against CTGF (1:1000) and actin (1:1000). Bar graph represents intensities of CTGF bands relative to actin expressed as percentage above control. Blots shown are representative of nine experiments. *P < 0.01 vs. control; †P < 0.05 vs. LDL; ††P < 0.05 vs. TGF-β1. (B) Equal amounts of proteins were resolved on SDS-PAGE (7.5%) and immunoblotted with an antibody against collagen I (1:1000) and actin (1:1000). Bar graph represent intensities of collagen I bands relative to actin expressed as percentage above control. Blots shown are representative of eight experiments. *P < 0.05 vs. control; †P < 0.05 vs. LDL; ††P < 0.01 vs. TGF-β1.
Kidney International  , DOI: ( /j x)
Copyright © 2005 International Society of Nephrology Terms and Conditions

7. Figure 6
Phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway by low-density lipoprotein (LDL). Quiescent mesangial cells were stimulated with 50 μg/mL of LDL for 5 minutes. Cell proteins were separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) (12%) and immunoblotted with a polyclonal antibody against phospho-p44/42 (1:4000) and total-p44/42 (1:4000) (A), phospho-p38 (1:1000) and total-p38 (1:4000) (B), and phospho-c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) (1:1000) and total-JNK (1:4000) (C). Blots shown are representative of 12 experiments. Bar graph represents intensities of phospho-MAPK relative to total-MAPK expressed as percent phosphorylation above control. Bars represent means ± SE of 12 experiments. *P < vs. control.
Kidney International  , DOI: ( /j x)
Copyright © 2005 International Society of Nephrology Terms and Conditions

8. Figure 7
Role of c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) in low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-induced transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) production. Quiescent mesangial cells were stimulated with LDL (50 μg/mL) for 24 hours in presence or absence of p44/42mapk inhibitor, PD98059 (40 μmol/L) (A), p38mapk inhibitor, SB (10 μmol/L) (B), and JNK inhibitor, SP (30 μmol/L) (C). Conditioned media were collected and activated to determine the total level of TGF-β1 protein using colorimetric enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit assay. Values are means ± SE of TGF-β1 levels expressed in pg/mL. *P < 0.05 vs. control; #P < vs. LDL (N = 4 to 10 experiments).
Kidney International  , DOI: ( /j x)
Copyright © 2005 International Society of Nephrology Terms and Conditions

9. Figure 8
Effect of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) inhibitors on low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-induced regulation of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF). (A) Mesangial cells were stimulated with LDL (50 μg/mL) for 24 hours in presence or absence of p44/42mapk inhibitor, PD98059 (40 μmol/L) for 45minutes. Equal amounts of proteins were resolved on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) (12%) and immunoblotted with an antibody against CTGF (1:1000) and actin (1:1000). Bar graph represents intensities of CTGF bands relative to actin expressed as percent above control. Blots shown are representative of eight experiments. *P < 0.05 vs. control; #P < vs. LDL. (B) Quiescent mesangial cells were stimulated by LDL (50 μg/mL) for 24 hours in presence or absence of p38mapk inhibitor, SB (10 μmol/L) for 45minutes. Blots shown are representative of four experiments. *P < 0.05 vs. control. (C) Quiescent mesangial cells were stimulated by LDL (50 μg/mL) for 24 hours in presence or absence of c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) inhibitor, SP (30 μmol/L) for 45minutes. Blots shown are representative of eight experiments. *P < 0.05 vs. control; #P < vs. LDL.
Kidney International  , DOI: ( /j x)
Copyright © 2005 International Society of Nephrology Terms and Conditions

10. Figure 9
Role of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway in low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-induced collagen I expression. (A) Quiescent mesangial cells were stimulated with LDL (50 μg/mL) for 24 hours in presence or absence of p44/42mapk inhibitor, PD98059 (40 μmol/L) for 45minutes. Equal amounts of proteins were resolved on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) (12%) and immunoblotted with an antibody against collagen I (1:1000) and actin (1:1000). Bar graph represents intensities of collagen I bands relative to actin expressed as percentage above control. Blots shown are representative of seven experiments. *P < 0.05 vs. control. (B) Quiescent mesangial cells were stimulated by LDL (50 μg/mL) for 24 hours in presence or absence of p38mapk inhibitor, SB (10 μmol/L) for 45minutes. Blots shown are representative of four experiments. *P < 0.05 vs. control. (C) Quiescent mesangial cells were stimulated by LDL (50 μg/mL) for 24 hours in presence or absence of c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) inhibitor, SP (30 μmol/L) for 45minutes. Blots shown are representative of eight experiments. *P < 0.05 vs. control; #P < vs. LDL.
Kidney International  , DOI: ( /j x)
Copyright © 2005 International Society of Nephrology Terms and Conditions