Figure 2.

mRAGE and sRAGE expression are decreased after asbestos injury. C57BL/6 mice were treated with 0.1 mg of crocidolite asbestos or titanium dioxide (TiO₂) as an inert particulate control. Fourteen days later, lungs were extracted to obtain both membrane and soluble protein fractions. a: mRAGE, sRAGE, and aquaporin-5 expression were analyzed by Western blot analysis. PVDF membranes were stripped and reprobed for β-tubulin as a loading control. b: Shown to the right is the densitometric analysis, where the protein of interest band intensities are normalized to β-tubulin band intensities for each lane. RNA was isolated from the lungs of mice 14 days after they were treated with asbestos and compared with normal lungs from mice treated with titanium dioxide for 24 hours. RAGE mRNA expression was measured by real-time PCR and normalized to GAPDH. c: Results are reported as a percent relative quantity compared to the TiO₂-treated group. A 1.5-fold decrease in RAGE expression was seen after asbestos treatment. **P < 0.01 and *P < 0.05 compared to TiO₂-treated controls.