Sphingosine Kinase 1 Plays an Important Role in Atorvastatin-Mediated Anti-Inflammatory Effect against Acute Lung Injury

Figure 7

Atorvastatin did not change SphK1 expression in mouse EC but enhance EC junction integrity. (a) The ECs isolated from WT and SphK1^-/- mice were cultured in 6-well plates. The protein levels of SphK1 and SphK2 were determined by western blotting. (b) The ECs isolated from WT or SphK1^-/- mice were cultured on glass slides in a 12-well plate. After treatment with 10 μM atorvastatin for 16 hours, the cells were challenged by 1 U/ml thrombin for 1 hour. Immunostaining was performed with VE-cadherin antibody as described in Materials and Methods. (c) Monolayer endothelial cells were cultured on transwell inserts and treated with 10 μM atorvastatin for 16 hours. The next day, the cells were treated with 1 U/ml thrombin for 1 hour in the presence of FITC-dextran. The FITC-dextran fluorescent density in the bottom chamber was measured at 485/538 nm ().

(a)

(b)

(c)