CTGF, intestinal stellate cells and carcinoid fibrogenesis

Figure 4 Micrographs of primary cultured human myofibroblasts isolated from human fibrotic material (SI carcinoid tumor). A: Light microscopy identified the typical stellate shape (black stars) in 5-day cultured cells (200 × magnification); B: Immunostaining with α-smooth muscle actin (Cy-5-red stain; nuclei are blue-DAPI) in same cells after 7-d culture (x 600); C: Message levels of CTGF determined by Q RT-PCR in primary cultured human myofibroblasts. CTGF was significantly over-expressed (about 3-fold) in TGFβ1 (10^-7 mol/L, 24 h) stimulated cells compared to control (un-stimulated) cells (^aP < 0.05), mean ± SE, n = 3.