Figure 2.

Ionizing radiation does not disrupt normal epithelial cell functions. (A) On ALI days 7, 10, and 14, TEER measured 1 h before (pre-exposure, open symbols) and 1 h after (post-exposure, closed symbols) indicates that IR exposure did not reduce TEER. Black lines represent TEER measured from two independent wells (Control A and Control B) of control and red lines represent TEER measured from two independent wells (Irradiated A and Irradiated B) of irradiated cells from one donor. (B) On ALI day 14, the percent change in TEER comparing 1 h pre-, and 1 h post-IR exposure showed no difference between control (white bar) and irradiated (black bar) cells, indicating that IR did not reduce TEER. Error bars represent the standard error of the mean from four independent donors (n = 4). (C) Methanol treatment used as a positive control for cell death resulted in prominent cell death as indicated by EthD-1 staining (red), whereas neither control nor IR exposure induced cell death (scale bars = 50 μm). Representative images (D) of MUC5AC, FOXJ1, p63α (20X), and β4-tubulin (63X). RT-qPCR (E) showing mRNA expression of MUC5AC, FOXJ1, TEKT1, and TP63 indicate no differences in cellular differentiation between control and irradiated cells. Scale bar = 50 μm (top 8 panels), 20 μm (bottom 2 panels) in (D) and error bars represent the standard deviation from two representative donors (n = 2) in (E).