Vitamin D Can Ameliorate Chlorhexidine Gluconate-Induced Peritoneal Fibrosis and Functional Deterioration through the Inhibition of Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition of Mesothelial Cells

Figure 5

Vitamin D3 inhibited transforming growth factor-β1- (TGF-β1-) induced epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of mesothelial cells (MCs) in vitro. (a) Primary human peritoneal MCs were incubated with TGF-β1 in vitro. Western blot analysis showed that addition of 1α,25(OH)₂D₃ (vit. D, 10⁻⁶ mol/L) inhibited TGF-β1-induced EMT (epithelial marker: E-cadherin; mesenchymal marker: Snail). (b) Semiquantitative data of protein levels of E-cadherin and Snail. () (c) Vitamin D inhibited TGF-β1-induced downregulation of E-cadherin and upregulation of Snail mRNA (normalized with GAPDH). Protein levels were measured on an arbitrary scale in all graphs (protein level from Western blots was performed using AlphaImager 2200). Data are represented as mean ± S.D. () (; ; ).

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