Research Article

Gap Junctions Are Involved in the Rescue of CFTR-Dependent Chloride Efflux by Amniotic Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Coculture with Cystic Fibrosis CFBE41o- Cells

Figure 1

Basal expression of Cx43 mRNA and protein. (a) mRNA levels: CFBE, 16HBE, and hAMSCs were grown on Transwells for 6 days at confluence and then evaluated by real-time PCR. Values are relative to those of CFBE cells that were set at 1 and are shown as fold change. Results are shown as mean ± SD of three experiments, each carried out in triplicate. . (b) Cx43 protein expression and localisation. CFBE, 16HBE, and hAMSCs were grown on Transwells for 6 days at confluence and then stained with an Alexa Fluor 488-conjugated antibody directed against Cx43 (upper panels). As a control for background levels, cells were not treated with the primary antibody (lower panels). Original magnification: 60x. Scale bar: 20 μm.
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