Gardenia jasminoides attenuates hepatocellular injury and fibrosis in bile duct-ligated rats and human hepatic stellate cells

Figure 4 Gardenia jasminoides significantly reduced transforming growth factor-β1-induced Smad2 phosphorylation and Smad2 protein expression in LX-2 cells. Cells were exposed to transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) (5 ng/mL) in combination with the indicated concentrations of Gardenia jasminoides or vehicle for 24 h. The expression of p-Smad2 and Smad2 in LX-2 cells was evaluated by Western blotting. ^bP < 0.01 vs sham; ^cP < 0.05, ^dP < 0.01 vs TGF-β1 + vehicle (n = 3).