Fig. 4
BCs transfected with pcDNA3.1-TROP2 express TROP2 RNA and protein. a Immunofluorescent staining of cultures for the stem cell markers p63 and cytokeratin 5 (red) to identify BCs isolated from airway epithelium of healthy volunteers. Cytokeratin 5 is expressed in the cytoplasm while p63 is expressed in the nuclei. DAPI highlights nuclei of viable cells. Original × 200; scale bars = 50 μm. b mRNA expression of TROP2 in pcDNA3.1-TROP2-BCs. Relative levels of TROP2 expression to GAPDH in the indicated cell types determined using the δCT in transfected vs control cells. c Protein expression levels of TROP2 in pcDNA3.1-TROP2-BCs. Western blot prepared with cell lysates (40 μg) from transfected and control cells and incubated with the antibodies indicated. Protein levels were quantitated by chemiluminescence with GAPDH used as the control for protein loading. * P < 0.01 vs untransfected cells; # P < 0.01 vs pcDNA3.1-BCs