Figure 4.

Concentration of β-defensin peptides in BAL fluid measured by Western immunoblotting. Human BAL samples were obtained and analyzed by acid/urea/PAGE and Western immunoblotting with specific antisera for HBD-1 and HBD-2. Samples from non-CF (NL), CF, and patients with inflammatory lung diseases (ILD) were studied. (A) Representative immunoblot results for lysozyme (LYSO), HBD-1, and HBD-2 (BAL, patient sample; Std, protein standard). (B) BAL β-defensin concentrations determined by comparison to peptide standards. Each open circle represents the value from a single patient sample. HBD-1 was detectable in some samples from all three groups but there were no statistically significant differences among the groups. HBD-2 was detected only in BAL from patients with CF or ILD (P < 0.05 for both groups compared with non-CF by ANOVA).