Figure 5

Activation of β-catenin in response to repeated intranasal LPS challenge is prevented by treatment with the selective GSK-3 inhibitor SB216763. (A) Expression of active β-catenin, phosphorylated GSK-3 (ser9/21 GSK-3) and total GSK-3 was evaluated in whole lung homogenates 24 hours after the last challenge by immunoblotting using specific antibodies. Equal protein loading was verified by the analysis of GAPDH. (B,C) Responses of repeated LPS challenge and SB216763 treatment on active β-catenin expression (B) and GSK-3 phosphorylation (C) were quantified by densitometry, representing mean ± s.e.m. of 9 animals per group. (D) Correlation between pulmonary expression of fibronectin (data from Figure 1) and active β-catenin in all guinea pigs. R = 0.552; p < 0.001. (E) Immunofluorescence analysis of active β-catenin (red) in large airways counterstained with Hoechst 3342 to stain nuclei (blue). *p < 0.05 compared to control group and ^#p < 0.05 compared to LPS treated animals.