Fig. 7

Molecular mechanism of human dermal fibroblast migration in AF-MSC-CM (b/s). a Optical images (scale bars, 1 mm) and b relative migration rates of dermal fibroblasts after 18 h of culture in AF-MSC-CM (b/s) untreated (CM) and treated with SB5050124, LY294002, or Bay11. SB5050124, LY294002, and Bay11 are selective inhibitors of the TGF-β, PI3K, and NFκB cell signaling pathways, respectively. c Western blot comparison of phosphorylated signaling molecules in response to SB5050124, LY294002, and Bay11 in dermal fibroblasts. The migration of dermal fibroblasts was improved by the signaling pathways depending on Smad2, AKT-MEK1/2-ERK, and NFκB. Error bars represent the mean ± SD of three independent experiments performed in triplicate. The asterisk denotes a statistically significant difference between the migration rates of untreated dermal fibroblasts and those treated with SB5050124, LY294002, or Bay11 (*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, and ***p < 0.001)