Fig. 2

Stable SPLUNC1 knockdown increases J2315 burden in HBECs. SPLUNC1 was stably knocked down in normal HBECs using lentivirus-induced shRNA. Scrambled shRNA was used as a control. a Western blots of SPLUNC1 in ASL and in whole cell lysate. b Mean densitometry, non-transduced (white bar), scrambled shRNA (black bar), SPLUNC1 shRNA (gray bar). HBECs were pretreated ±10 μM rSPLUNC1for 1 h, then mucosally infected with 10⁶ CFU/ml J2315 for 2 h, 37 °C, 5% CO₂. Aliquots of (c) ASL lavage and (d) cell lysate were serially diluted and plated on agar for bacterial counts. n = 2 HBECs cultured from N = 4 individual donors. (White bar = non-transduced, black bar = scrambled shRNA, gray bar = SPLUNC1 shRNA). * = p < 0.05, ** = p < 0.01