Figure 2

Effect of CSC treatment on proinflammatory gene expression. NHBEs were exposed to CSC at a concentration of 0.4 μg/ml for 30 min at 37°C. Total RNA was isolated and specific gene expression measured by RT-PCR assay. Target gene expression levels were normalized to the level of GAPDH expression in each reaction and expressed as fold change relative to control. The values are means ± SEM for n = 3. Significant differences at P < 0.05 are indicated by *. CSC = cigarette smoke condensate; NBHE = normal human bronchial epithelial cell; RT-PCR = reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction; SEM = standard error of the mean