Fig. 7. CNP counteracts FGF2-mediated loss of the extracellular matrix and fibronectin induction in RCS cells. (A) Cells were treated with FGF2 and CNP for 72 hours and the amount of extracellular matrix was determined by Alcian blue staining (left panel, 200x). The corresponding darkfield photograph is also shown (right panel, 200x). (B) Cells were treated with FGF2 and CNP for 72 hours and the culture media, conditioned by cells for last 24 hours of treatment, was resolved by reducing SDS-PAGE followed by Coomassie Brilliant Blue staining. Note that the volume of the sample loaded corresponds to the 1/100th of the total media conditioned by the amount of cells indicated. (C) Cells were treated with FGF2 and CNP for up to 48 hours and the amount of fibronectin mRNA was determined by real-time RT-PCR. Quantities of the transcript are relative to untreated cells at each time point.