Figure 4. Effects of various inhibitors on Fusobacterium nucleatum-induced matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9) expression. A: A549 cells were pre-treated with 10 μM SB239063 (p38-MAPK inhibitor), 10 μM SP600125 (JNK inhibitor), 10 μM U0126 (ERK1/2), and 10 μM BAY11-7082 (NF-ĸB inhibitor) for 1 h, and then treated with 1.0×108 CFU/ml F. nucleatum for 1 h. p38-MAPK, c-Jun N-terminal protein kinase (JNK), extracellular signaling-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2), and NF-ĸB p65 phosphorylation was examined via western blotting. B: A549 cells were pre-treated with 10 μM SB239063, 10 μM SP600125, 10 μM U0126, and 10 μM BAY11-7082 for 1 h, and then treated with 1.0×108 CFU/ml F. nucleatum for 24 h. MMP9 mRNA expression was determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction. The data are presented as the mean±standard error of the mean; n=3. Significantly different at *p<0.05 and ***p<0.001. The conditioned medium was analyzed by western blotting for MMP9 expression (C) and by gelatin zymography for MMP9 activity (D). DMSO and mock-treated samples were used as controls.
