Fibrinogen regulates neurocan expression in primary astrocytes. A , Increased expression of neurocan mRNA in primary astrocytes after fibrinogen treatment as determined by quantitative PCR and normalized to GAPDH. Results are from three independent experiments performed in duplicate. B , C , Potent and rapid fibrinogen-induced neurocan protein secretion by primary astrocytes with TGF-β ( B ) or EGF ( C ) as positive controls. D , Fibrinogen-induced neurocan expression is concentration-dependent. Primary astrocytes were treated for 2 d with fibrinogen (0.1–2.5 mg/ml). TGF-β served as a positive control. Representative blots are shown from three independent experiments. Values are mean ± SEM of three independent experiments. *p < 0.01.