Fig. 1.

Expression of the sweet taste receptor T1R3 at the pulmonary endothelium is regulated by barrier disruptive agents. A: mRNA expression of the T1R3 gene Tas1r3 in rat lung and jejunum tissue and cultured rat lung microvascular endothelial cells (LMVECs). Gene expression is relative to the housekeeping gene β-actin and normalized to the positive control jejunum tissue; n = 6. B and C: protein expression of T1R3 in cultured rat LMVECs exposed to LPS (1 µg/ml), thrombin (2 U/ml), or VEGF (50 ng/ml) for 24 h (B) and homogenates of lungs from C57/BL6 mice exposed to varying doses of LPS (0–5 mg/kg) (C); n = 5. A representative blot and densitometry relative to the load control (i) and β-actin (ii) are shown. Data are expressed as means ± SD. *P < 0.05 vs. vehicle.