Fig. 2.

Effects of hES-MSCs on TNF-α-induced changes in TJ protein/gene expression. BMECs were plated on 24-well Transwell inserts, allowed to achieve confluence, and then (±) exposed to 10 ng/ml TNF-α added to both the bottom and top chamber for 24 h at 37 °C. After this time, hES-MSCs were added to either the bottom (B) or top (T) chamber for an additional 24 h. a BMECs were fixed with 4% paraformaldehyde, and then immunostained for TJ protein CLN-5 and ZO-1. b Relative intensity of CLN-5 and ZO-1 immunostaining. c Relative quantification of CLN-5 and ZO-1 mRNA by qRT-PCR. Changes in CLN-5 and ZO-1 following different treatments were reported as x-fold change of control value. Data are presented as mean ± SE. Each experiment consisted of 3 replicates (derived from a single preparation of BMECs) repeated 3 times (each time from a different BMEC preparation), for a total N = 9 samples per group. *p < 0.05 compared with control group, ^#p < 0.05 compared with TNF-α treated group