Fig. 5.
HBF populations in EMTU co-cultures protect the ALI-cultured HBECs against the potent TGF-β1 influence. HBECs were cultured alone or in EMTU in the absence (CTRL) or presence of TGF-β1 (5 ng/ml) for 4 days. Then, the expression of EMT-related genes: a CDH2 (N-cadherin), b ACTA2, c-d SNAI1 and SNAI2 were determined by RT-qPCR using GAPDH as a reference gene and presented as 2-ΔΔCt values. e SNAI1/SNAI2 ratio was calculated and presented. Data from all experiments represent the mean ± SEM carried out on HBECs AS (n = 4) and NA (n = 4). Statistical significances were tested using the non-parametric Friedmann with Dunn’s Multiple Comparison post hoc test (comparison between AS and NA group) or Kruskall-Wallis with Dunn’s Multiple Comparison post hoc test (comparison within each group); * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01,*** p < 0.001