Figure 5. Zinc attenuates the HlyA-induced increase in intracellular Ca²⁺.

Supernatant of HlyA-producing E. coli-536 was added apically to epithelial T84 cell monolayers and corresponding calcium levels were determined and compared to those of monolayers that were simultaneously incubated with supernatants of HlyA⁺ E. coli-536 plus Zn²⁺ (100 μM) compared to an incubation with supernatants of the HDM strain for 2 hours. The assessment for intracellular Ca²⁺ level was measured by Fura-2-AM and revealed a diminished Ca²⁺ influx when supplemented with Zn²⁺. n = 8, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, Student’s t-test.