Figure 5.

Co-culture with MSCs increased expression of the α1 subunit and SP-A. Expression levels of the α1-subunit and SP-A by (A) western blotting and (B) semiquantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction were analyzed in order to observe MSC effects on AT-II cells. Experiments were run three times and the protein levels were normalized to β-actin expression. Data are presented as the mean ± standard deviation. ^**P<0.01 vs. AT-II cells (phosphate-buffered saline); ^††P<0.01 vs. AT-II cells (MSCs). MSCs, mesenchymal stem cells; SP-A, surfactant protein A; AT-II cell, alveolar type II epithelial cell; KGF, keratinocyte growth factor; siRNA, small interfering RNA; Lipof, lipofectamine.