Figure 4.

TNF-α modulation of protein levels of BNP and NPR-1 may require activation of NF-κB pathway. BEAS-2B cells were treated 10 ng/mL TNF-α alone or in combination with the inhibitor QNZ (10 μM), for 24 h. ((a), (b)) BNP, ((c), (d)) NPR-1 gene expression at mRNA ((a), (c)) and protein ((b), (d)) level, and (e) Phospho-IκB-α protein level. Western blots were obtained by using the specific rabbit polyclonal or monoclonal Abs. The blots were stripped of the bound Ab and reprobed with mouse anti-β-actin, to confirm equal loading. Western blots are representative of three separate experiments. All histograms indicate means ± SD of three different cultures each one tested in quadruplicate and expressed as percentage of control (**P < 0.01, and ****P < 0.0001 versus Controls). (°°P < 0.01 versus QNZ). C: Controls (untreated cells).