Fig. 3
From: Influence of COPD systemic environment on the myogenic function of muscle precursor cells in vitro
Protein expression and myotube formation. (a-b) Representative western blots. (a, c) MPCs were induced to differentiate in the presence of differentiation medium containing 2% human serum obtained from control subjects (hu S CONTROL), stable COPD patients (hu S SCOPD) and COPD patients with an acute exacerbation (hu S AECOPD). (b, d) Differentiation of MPCs in the presence of hu S AECOPD serum was assessed before and after methylprednisolone (MP) treatment in the absence or presence of the GCR antagonist Mifepristone (MIF). Results are presented as the mean ± SD (n = 12). #p < 0.05 and ##p < 0.01 compared with hu S AECOPD exposure before MP treatment; §§p < 0.01 and §§§p < 0.001 compared with hu S AECOPD exposure after MP treatment. (e) Representative microscope images of myotubes monitored by immunofluorescence. Myotubes are stained with an antibody against MHC (green) and nuclei are stained with DAPI (blue). Scale bar = 200 μm