Contribution of Connexin Hemichannels to the Pathogenesis of Acute Lung Injury

Figure 1

Cx43 mimetic peptide P5 inhibited LY uptake in vitro. HPMVEC (a, b), HepG2 (c), and Cx43-deficient cell (e) cultures were divided into Cont (saline), P5 (20 μg/ml), LPS (0.5 μg/ml), and LPS+P5 (0.5 μg/ml LPS+20 μg/ml P5) groups. LY was applied to the culture medium for 10 min incubation. Then, cells were fixed with paraformaldehyde and stained with DAPI. The ratio of LY/DAPI fluorescence signals was used to determine HC permeability. The unit of the LY/DAPI ratio is arbitrary, and the values are not comparable between experiments using different cells. (d) Expression of Cx43 in HepG2 and NIH3T3 cells with or without LPS challenge was examined using Western blotting. a.u.: arbitrary unit.

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