Figure 4 Transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) pathway agonists partially reversed the effect of sodium ferulate (SF) on the proliferation of fibroblasts and the expression of fibrosis-related proteins. (A) The effect of TGF-β pathway agonists (SRI-011381) on the viability of fibroblasts was detected by Cell Counting Kit (CCK)-8 assay. (B–F) The effect of SRI-011381 on the expression of TGF-β1, neutrophil alkaline phosphatase 3 (NALP3), collagen-1, and alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) proteins was detected by western blot. (G, H) The detection of caspase-1 and IL-1β levels was performed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit. Expression levels were normalized with GAPDH. All experiments were performed in triplicate, and data are expressed as mean±standard deviation (SD). * P<0.05, ** P<0.01, *** P<0.001 vs control; # P<0.05, ### P<0.001 vs SF group; @@@ P<0.001 vs SRI-011381 group.