Expression of ECM Components Protein of Cultured Rat Mesangial Cell by Transfecting Human TGF-β1 Gene

Purpose To study the effect of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1 ) on protein expression of extracellular matrix components of mesangial cell by transfecting human TGF-β1 gene. Methods Human TGF-β1 gene was transferred into mesangial cells (MsC) by lipofectin and confirmed by Western blot. Immunohistochemistry and image analysis were performed to detect the expression of type Ⅳ collagen, FN (fibronectin) ,type Ⅰ collagen, LM (laminin). Results Reconstructed plasmid pc-DNA3.0-TGF-β1 was successfully transfected into MsC, Western blot and immunohistochemistry detection showed the protein of TGF-β1 was highly expressed in transfected cells. Immunohistochemistry and image analysis showed that the expression of type Ⅳ collagen and FN protein in transfected cells were much higher than that in the control group (P0.01) ,but the difference of type Ⅰ collagen and LM expression is not significant. Conclusions TGF-β1 might play an important role in the processing of glomerulosclerosis through increasing synthesis of extracellular matrix(ECM) components protein in MsC.