Figure 4.

PGN combination perturbed the sperm-triggered JNK phosphorylation in endometrial epithelia. Subconfluent BEECs monolayers were exposed to PGN (10 pg ml⁻¹) for 24 h followed by co-culturing with sperm for 1 h. Western blot analysis was carried out to estimate the phosphorylation levels of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade components in endometrial cells. Expression of specific antibodies against (A) P38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38MAPK), (B) phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase (pERK1/2), (C) c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), (D) nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NFκB), (E) phospho Interferon Regulatory Factor 3 (pIRF3) was assessed, and β actin was used as a loading control in the different groups. The value under each sample indicates the fold change of the protein level relative to that of the control. The bands’ intensity was analyzed using a Gel-Pro Analyzer (Media Cybernetics, Rockville, MD, USA). Data are presented as mean ± SEM of 3 independent experiments using epithelial cells from 3 different uteri (3 wells/treatment/experiment). Asterisks denote a significant variance (*P<0.05) between the different groups when compared to the control group.