Figure 4.

IL-22 increases cell motility and induces EMT on IECs. (A–C) HT29/B6 cells exposed to IL-22 (10 ng/ml) growing on transwell filters were scratched (diameter 100 μm). Migration was evaluated by measuring the remaining scratch width at 24 and 48 h after scratching by fluorescence microscopy; n = 3 (B) For invasion, CaCo-2 cells were seeded on Matrigel®-coated filters and then exposed to IL-22 (100 ng/ml). The invasion of CaCo-2 cells through the Matrigel®-coated filter was quantified by counting colonies that formed on the basal side of the filter n = 3. (D,E) CaCo-2 cells were exposed to IL-22 (10 ng/ml) and lysed. E-cadherin and MMP-7 protein levels were investigated through western blotting. Representative Western blots of three and two independent experiments, respectively. (F–H) CaCo-2 cells were exposed to IL-22 (10 or 100 ng/ml) for 3 and 24 h. RNA was extracted and RT-qPCR was performed to quantify expression of Snail (SNAI1), Slug (SNAI2), and MMP-7. Expression levels were calculated using the 2^−ΔΔCT method. Mann–Whitney U-test; n = 3; *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001.