Fig. 6

Inhibition of GLI2 leads to a reduction in HOTAIR-mediated fibroblast activation. RNA and protein were extracted from scramble and HOTAIR-expressing fibroblasts. In addition, HOTAIR-expressing fibroblasts were treated with the GLI inhibitor GANT61. a α-SMA protein levels were assessed by western blot. β-actin was used as a loading control. b Graph represents mean and standard error for densitometry analysis of the α-SMA western blots. c Scramble and HOTAIR-expressing fibroblasts were stained with an antibody specific for α-SMA. In addition, HOTAIR-expressing fibroblasts were treated with the GANT61. The α-SMA antibody was visualised with a mouse-specific Alexa 594-conjugated secondary antibody. DAPI was used to visualise the nuclei (blue). Red scale bars represent 20 μm. PTCH1 (d), GLI2 (e), COL1A1(f), COL1A2 (g), α-SMA (h) and CTGF (i) transcript levels were analysed. Graphs represent the mean and standard error for three independent experiments. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001