Deletion of Smad7 enhances ANG II-induced activation of TGF-β1/Smad3 signaling in the kidney.

<p><b>A:</b> TGF-β1 expression detected by immunohistochemistry (i ii) and real-time PCR (iii). <b>B:</b> Activation of Smad3 determined by immunohistochemistry for phospho-Smad2/3 nuclear translocation (i, ii) and Western blots for phosphorylation levels of Smad3 in the kidney (iii, iv). <b>C:</b> Smad7 protein levels. Note that ANG II induces degradation of renal Smad7 protein in the Smad7 WT. Each bar represents means ± SE for groups of 6 mice. Scale bar, 50 µM. *<i>P</i><0.05, **<i>P</i><0.01, ***<i>P</i><0.001 compared with saline (SL) control mice. ^#<i>P</i><0.05, ^##<i>P</i><0.01,^###<i>P</i><0.001 when compared with ANG II-infused Smad7 WT mice.