Fig. 7

Combined aclidinium bromide (Acl) and fluticasone propionate (Flut) shows additive effects in inhibiting the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced phosphorylation of ERK1/2, p38 and GR-Ser226 and in increasing MKP1 levels. Human peripheral blood neutrophils from COPD patients were incubated with Acl, Flut or a combination thereof for 1 h and then stimulated with LPS during 30 min. Total protein was extracted for western blotting. The expression of p-ERK1/2, p-p38 and p-GR-Ser226 was determined as the ratio of the respective non-phosphorylated forms, and that of MKP1 vs. β-actin expression. Representative images are shown. Data are presented as the mean ± SD (n = 4 COPD cell populations in independent experiments run in triplicate). A two-way repeated measures ANOVA was followed by post hoc Bonferroni tests: *p < 0.05 vs. the control; #p < 0.05 vs. LPS-stimulated cells. ⊥ p < 0.05 vs. cells treated with drug monotherapy