Radiation Induces Pulmonary Fibrosis by Promoting the Fibrogenic Differentiation of Alveolar Stem Cells

Figure 4

Radiation exposure promotes fibrogenic signaling in LSCs and AECII cells. (a) The mRNA was extracted from LSCs after treatment with or without 8 Gy X-ray followed by incubation under normal conditions for 7 days. Relative gene expression was examined by the Fibrosis PCR Array. (b) The mRNA was extracted from LSCs, AECII, and AECI cells exposed to 2 or 8 Gy. The relative levels of the indicated mRNAs were measured by real-time PCR. The data were normalized to GAPDH and expressed relative to nonradiated control cells. (c) LSCs were treated with CTGF (50 ng/ml) or TGF-β (5 ng/ml) for 3 days, and the populations of α-SMA⁺ and SP-C⁺ cells were analyzed. Scale bars, 100 μm.

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