Figure 6.

Upregulation of zonula occludens (ZO)-1α⁺ tight junction protein with dexamethasone (DEX) treatment 1 day after blast injury. (A) Representative western blot of ZO-1 expression after blast or sham exposure, showing immunoreactive bands for the α⁺ and α⁻ isoforms of ZO-1, and associated β-tubulin expression. Dexamethasone treatment in injured cultures increased intensity of the ZO-1α⁺ band compared with all other experimental conditions, but did not affect intensity of the ZO-1α⁻ band. (B) Significant upregulation of ZO-1α⁺ with DEX treatment after blast injury, as quantified by western blot analysis. The expression of ZO-1α⁺ was normalized to β-tubulin expression, and experimental groups were further normalized to vehicle-treated sham. (C) No significant changes to ZO-1α⁻ after blast injury, as quantified by western blot analysis. The expression of ZO-1α⁻ was normalized to β-tubulin expression, and experimental groups were further normalized to vehicle-treated sham. *P<0.05; ±s.e.m.; n⩾5 independent experiments per group in B and C.