Fig. 5.

Involvement of the Rho-associated protein kinase (ROCK) pathway in water pipe condensate (WPC)-induced BCG uptake. The ROCK inhibitor Y-27632 (1 μM) attenuated the ability of WPC to enhance BCG uptake by A549 cells. Uptake of BCG by control PBS-treated cells (59.2 ± 2.7%) (a) was enhanced by water pipe condensate (WPC) exposure for 72 h (85.0 ± 3.5%) (b). Y-27632 pre-treatment shows a shift of cells back into FL1 in the presence of WPC (48.0 ± 2.7%) (c) while Y-27632 alone reduced to control levels of BCG uptake (46.4 ± 2.3) (d). The results are representative of 2 independent experiments