Fig. 2.

HB-EGF induces activation of the NF-κB pathway in airway epithelial cells. Western blotting was conducted to detect the level of NF-κB p65 (nucleus and cytosol) in BEAS-2B and HBECs. BEAS-2B cells (a) and HBECs (c) were continually treated with various concentrations of rhHB-EGF for 1 h. The cell culture supernatant wasn’t changed and protein was extracted at 1 h. Further, we used 100 ng/ml rhHB-EGF to stimulate BEAS-2B cells (e) and HBECs (g) at the indicated time points. The cell culture supernatant wasn’t changed and protein was extracted at the indicated time points. NF-κB p65 (nucleus and cytosol) expression was analyzed using Image J to quantify the protein level. Moreover, the level of nuclear/cytosolic p65 was evaluated NF-κB p65 activation (b, d, f, and h). Data are from one experiment representative of three independent experiments. Results are expressed as mean ± SEM. ^##P < 0.01, ^###P < 0.001 versus control of BEAS-2B cells; *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001 versus control of HBECs