Journal: International Journal of Molecular Sciences
Article Title: Matrix Metalloproteinase 7 Mediates Epithelial–Mesenchymal Transition to Promote Liver Fibrosis Through E-cadherin/β-catenin Pathway in Biliary Atresia
doi: 10.3390/ijms27052209
Figure Lengend Snippet: MMP7 promoted EMT in an E-cadherin/β-catenin pathway-dependent manner. ( A ) Protein expression of E-cadherin in HIBEpiCs after treatment with different concentrations of MMP7 for 24 h. ( B ) Level of sE-cadherin in the cell culture supernatant of HIBEpiCs after MMP7 treatment. ( C ) Western blot analysis of β-catenin protein in the nucleus or cytoplasm of HIBEpiCs. ( D ) Immunofluorescence staining shows the subcellular localization of β-catenin in HIBEpiCs. Scale bar:50 μm. ( E ) TOP/FOP-Flash luciferase activity of MMP7-treated cells. ( F ) Effect of the MMP7 and ICG-001 on β-catenin downstream target genes expression (including SNAI1 , SNAI2 , MMP7 ) in HIBEpiCs. ( G , H ) Effect of the MMP7 and ICG-001 on mRNA and protein expression of EMT-related markers (including E-cadherin, Vimentin, S100A4) in HIBEpiCs. ( I ) ELISA analysis of serum level of sE-cadherin in patients. ( J ) Spearman’s rank correlation analysis of serum sE-cadherin and serum MMP7 in BA patients. ( K ) Representative images of immunostaining of β-catenin in cholangiocytes of non-BA and BA patients. Magnification: left panel : ×100; right panel : ×400. ( C – H ) MMP7 concentration: 80 ng/mL; ICG-001 concentration: 25 μM. Data are presented as mean ± SD.
Article Snippet: The activation of recombinant human MMP7 protein (R&D Systems, Minneapolis, MN, USA) was achieved through incubation with 4-aminophenylmercuric acetate (APMA; Sigma, St. Louis, MO, USA).
Techniques: Expressing, Cell Culture, Western Blot, Immunofluorescence, Staining, Luciferase, Activity Assay, Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay, Immunostaining, Concentration Assay