Inhibition of Bruton’s Tyrosine Kinase Alleviates Monocrotaline-Induced Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension by Modulating Macrophage Polarization

Figure 6

BTK inhibition protects endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition in vitro by a direct effect on macrophages. HPAECs were treated with different macrophage conditioned media. (a–c) Secretion of the inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α) in macrophage conditioned medium (CM) were determined via ELISA (). (d) Morphological examination was performed to detect morphology changes of HPAECs in each treatment group (). (e) Transwell migration assays were performed, and the number of migratory HPAECs was assessed by crystal violet staining (). TGF-β1+IL-1β+TNF-α served as a positive control. (f) Western blots were used to determine the expression of VE-cadherin, Fibronectin, and Vimentin in HPAECs (). Data are presented as . vs. the Con-CM group; ^# vs. the LPS-CM group.

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

(f)