Fig. 7.

Organic dust extract (ODE) increases both mucin (MUC)5AC and MUC5B in primary-culture human airway epithelial cells. A: representative images of MUC5AC and MUC5B immunostaining by mouse MAb (red) with phalloidin (green) to mark the plasma membrane of human tracheobronchial epithelial cells (hTEC) under air–liquid interface (ALI) condition ±5% ODE for 7 days. Original scale bar, 50 μm. B: fold change of mucin gene expression by quantitative PCR (qPCR) in hTEC (n = 5). Fold change measured by paired Mann-Whitney’s U-test. *P < 0.05, significant difference between media and ODE conditions. DAPI, 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole.