FIG 3.

hBD-3 induction by A. baumannii is EGFR dependent. (A) Western blot of EGFR and β-actin control. The results are representative of those from three independent experiments. After 2 h of coculture, the EGFR level was not changed in control cells, AB0057-treated cells, or cells treated with AB0057 plus batimastat. (B) Expression of hBD-3. Both EGFR-neutralizing antibody and batimastat greatly reduced the level of hBD-3 transcripts in A. baumannii-challenged oral and skin epithelial cells. (C) Expression of hBD-2. The level of the hBD-2 transcript was not affected by EGFR blocking antibody or batimastat. The results shown in panels B and C are the means of three independent experiments ± SDs. **, P < 0.01; ***, P < 0.001.