Figure 5.

Pharmacological inhibition of ASK1 prevented TGFβl-induced cell migration in COPD. The ASK1 inhibitor TC ASK 10 inhibits cellular migration in airway smooth muscle cells from patients with COPD. Cells were either untreated (control) (A) or treated with either 10ng/ml TGFβl (B) or 10ng/ml TGFβl + 100nM TC ASK 10, an ASK1 inhibitor (C). Migration was assessed by analysing the percentage of wound area covered by cells (D). Results are expressed as mean ± SEM. 5–6 patient samples were used in each treatment group. Data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA followed by Bonferroni’s multiple comparison test; *control vs TGFβl; ^#TGFβ1 vs TGFβ1+ASK1 inhibitor; p<0.05 was considered significant. Scale bar, 100 μm.