Figure 4

Blockade of monocyte-epithelial cell interaction attenuated EMT profiles and inflammatory responses. Human BEAS-2B cells were treated for 30 min with serum-free DMEM either alone (pH 7.4) or containing HCl (pH 4.0). The medium was replaced with complete DMEM at pH 7.4. The cells were then incubated for 30 min with the LFA-1 peptide CD11a_237–246 (PeptCD11a), CD18_112–122 (PeptCD18), combination of CD11a_237–246 and CD18_112–122 (PeptCD11a + CD18) or scrambled peptides (PeptScramb) at 1.0 mM. U937 cells were added onto the monolayer of the BEAS-2B cells and cocultured for 48 h. A. Expression of epithelial markers of E-cadherin, and mesenchymal markers of vimentin, α-SMA and N-cadherin were detected by Western blots. Upper panel shows representative blots. Lower panel shows semi-quantative data of the band density from three experiments. ^*P < 0.05 vs. vehicle control (Control); ^#P < 0.05 vs. HCl alone, respectively. B-E. Cell viability and inflammatory responses by monocyte-epithelial cell interaction following HCl challenge. Concentrations of hydroxyproline, LDH, IL-8 and PDGF were measured in culture supernatants. Data shown are in triplicate from three experiments. ^*P < 0.05 vs. vehicle control (far left bar); ^#P < 0.05 vs. HCl alone, respectively.