qRT-PCR:
RPGSMCs were grown in 6-well plates until approximately 90% confluent before being washed and switched to serum and growth factor starved media. Cells were then subjected to 48-hour drug and/or peptide treatment before lysis in TRIzol reagent (ThermoFisher, 15596026). The Direct-zol RNA miniprep plus (Zymo, R2051) manufacturer’s protocol was used to isolate RNA from cells. For cDNA synthesis, the SuperScript IV First Strand Synthesis (ThermoFisher, 18091050) kit manufacturer’s protocol was used. For quantitative real time PCR analysis, the PowerUp SyBr Green (ThermoFisher, A25742) and 1 μM target primer (Table 2) were mixed according to manufacturer’s protocol with settings for 40 PCR cycles, 95°C melting temperature, 58°C annealing temperature, and 72°C extension temperature set on a QuantStudio 5 Real-Time 384-well PCR System (ThermoFisher A28140) for amplification. The Δ-Δ-ct value fold change in expression was used in order to control for cell number and RNA quality with values normalized to an 18S housekeeping gene transcript.