Sexual Dimorphism in the Regulation of Estrogen, Progesterone, and Androgen Receptors by Sex Steroids in the Rat Airway Smooth Muscle Cells

Figure 1

Regulation of ERα protein content by sex hormones in airway smooth muscle (ASM) and airway smooth muscle cells (ASMC). ERα protein content in ASM and ASMC of gonadectomized female and male rats treated with vehicle (v, corn oil), 17β-estradiol (E2), progesterone (P4), 17β-estradiol + progesterone (E + P), and testosterone propionate (T). (a) A representative assay of four Western blot experiments is shown. The protein antibody complex was detected by chemiluminescence. Blots were stripped and reprobed with GAPDH antibody to correct differences in the amount of total loaded protein. (b) Proteins detected by Western blot were quantified by densitometric analysis and corrected by GAPDH protein content. Results are expressed as mean ± SD, . compared with vehicle treatment, compared with vehicle treatment, and compared with vehicle treatment. (c) Flow cytometry histogram plots are based on forward scatter (FSC) and side scatter (SSC) gating for ASMC. This was validated using actin α-smooth muscle and ERα staining. A representative example of the gating strategy is shown. (d) Geometric mean fluorescence intensity (gMFI) for ERα expression on ASMC. Results are expressed as mean ± SD, . compared with vehicle treatment.

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