Figure 7. Blocking TTF-1 expression attenuates leptin-mediated SP-A upregulation.

A: The gene expression of TTF-1 was knocked down by shRNA, and confirmed by western blotting with TTF-1 antibody. B: Type-II AECs were transfected with the plasmids described above by Lipofectamine 2000, and after 6 h, the transfected cells were exposed to leptin for 24 h. Cell lysates were harvested and the silencing efficiency was verified by western blotting. ^*P<0.01 vs the control group (n = 3). C: Type-II AECs were treated as in (B) and total RNA was extracted for mRNA expression measurement of SP-A by quantitative real-time RT-PCR. ^*P<0.01 vs the control group (n = 3).