Fig 2: Effect of HSP47 knockdown on the development of fibrogenesis in slices. Untransfected and transfected slices were collected after 96 or 144 h of incubation with 5 ng/mL TGFß1 (n = 3). Expression of fibrogenesis-related genes (A), secretion of fibronectin into culture medium (B), and expression of a-SMA (C) were measured to identify potential downstream effects on fibrogenesis after knockdown of HSP47. Values represent individual experiments performed in triplicate and are accompanied with the arithmetic mean (horizontal line) ± standard error of the mean (error bars). (*p < 0.05).

Fig 3: SERPINH1 regulates EMT markers and Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway in GC. (A) Western blot analysis shows reduced N-cadherin and increased E-cadherin expression in SERPINH1-silenced SGC-7901 cells compared with controls. Conversely, SERPINH1-overexpressing MGC-803 cells show increased N-cadherin and reduced E-cadherin expression compared with the controls. (B) Western blot analysis shows increased levels of ß-catenin, Wnt2, GSK-3ß, p-GSK-3ß, NF-?B p65, Snail1, Slug, and TWIST in the SERPINH1-overexpressing MGC-803 cells compared with the controls, whereas SERPINH1-silenced SGC-7901 cells show reduced levels of ß-catenin, Wnt2, GSK-3ß, p-GSK-3ß, NF-?B p65, Snail1, Slug, and TWIST compared with the controls. (C) Immunofluorescence staining of E-cadherin, N-cadherin and SERPINH1 proteins in the control and SERPINH1-silenced SGC-7901 cells, as well as, control and SERPINH1-overexpressing MGC-803 cells. (D, E) Gene expression analysis of the TCGA-STAD dataset shows (D) negative correlation of CDH1 (r=-0.12, P=0.019) or E-cadherin mRNA levels and (E) positive association of CDH2 (r=0.40, P<0.0001) or N-cadherin mRNA levels with the SERPINH1 mRNA levels.

Fig 4: Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis to determine diagnostic relevance of SERPINH1 mRNA levels in GC patients. ROC curve analysis of SERPINH1 mRNA levels in the (A) Cho (AUC=0.945), (B) Cui (AUC=0.807), and (C) Chen (AUC=0.997) Gastric datasets from the Oncomine database; (D) STAD dataset (AUC=0.919) from the TCGA database; and (E) GSE29272 (AUC=0.931) and (F) GSE54129 (AUC=0.993) datasets from the GEO databases.

Fig 5: Cardiac fibroblast specific USP10 deficiency abolished HSP47-mediated cardiac dysfunction and fibrogenesis in chronic ischemic hearts. (A–C) Con-miR1/133TS or HSP47-miR1/133TS was administered via tail vein injection to the USP10fl/fl or USP10fl/fl-Cre+ mice (dose 3 × 108 PFU per mouse) for two weeks before surgery, and reperfused for 24 h. (A) Heart slices from indicated mice were stained with Evans blue and TTC at 24 h after myocardial IRI to determine (B, C) the area at risk (AAR) and infarcted region (IR). n = 6 per group. Scale bar = 0.5 cm. Differences were assessed by two-way ANOVA and Tukey's multiple comparison test. (D–H) Con-miR1/133TS or HSP47-miR1/133TS was administered via tail vein injection to the USP10fl/fl or USP10fl/fl-Cre+ mice (dose 3 × 108 PFU per mouse) for two weeks before surgery, and continuously reperfused for 4 weeks. (D) Representative M-mode echocardiography was recorded. (E) LV ejection fraction (LVEF) was analyzed. n = 11–12 per group. Differences were assessed by two-way ANOVA and Tukey's multiple comparison test. (F, G) Representative Masson staining of heart slices from indicated mice and quantitative analyses of LV collagen volume. n = 6 per group. Scar bar = 80 μm. (H) Ubiquitination of Smad4 was detected by immunoprecipitation in isolated cardiac fibroblasts. n = 4 independent experiments. Data are presented as the mean ± SEM, with each point representing a mouse.