FIGURE 4.
Biochemical evaluation of the effects of Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 (EcN); mRNA expression of epithelial integrity proteins, (A) MUC-2, (B) MUC-3, (C) occludin (OCLN), and (D) zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1), was quantified by real-time PCR, and fold changes are expressed as means ± SEM. Non-colitic group (n = 10), DSS-colitic group (n = 10), and EcN group (n = 10). Statistical analysis was performed with one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s test. Bars with different letters are significantly different (p < 0.05). Non-colitic: untreated healthy group (n = 10); DSS-colitic: untreated DSS-induced colitic group (n = 10) and EcN: DSS-induced colitic group treated with probiotic (n = 10).