Figure 7
Expression of α-SMA in HLF co-cultured with either healthy BEC or asthmatic BEC in the presence of TGFβ 2 monoclonal neutralizing antibody. Expression of α-SMA by HLF was greater than both HLF-healthy BEC and HLF asthmatic BEC co-cultures. HLF-asthmatic BEC co-cultures demonstrated 40% greater expression of α-SMA compared to HLF-healthy BEC co-cultures (p < 0.01). Addition of TGFβ2 neutralizing antibody did not significantly change α-SMA expression in HLF-healthy BEC co-cultures; however, similar treatment lead to a 30% reduction in the expression of α-SMA in HLF-asthmatic co-cultures (p < 0.01).