Figure 5
Immunofluorescence study revealed that inhibition of p38 MAPK activation successfully prevented the decreased expression levels, redistribution and dissociation of tight junction proteins and partially prevented defects in adherens junction of polarized MDCK cells induced by COM crystals.
The polarized MDCK cells were pretreated without or with 20 μM SB239063 for 2-h and then incubated with 100 μg/ml COM crystals for 48-h. Subsequently, the cells were subjected to co-staining for ZO-1(in green, first column) and occludin (in red, second column). The third column shows the merged view of both ZO-1 and occludin and their co-localization is illustrated in yellow. The cells were also examined for E-cadherin (in green; last column). The polarized MDCK cells grown in COM-free medium served as the controls. Original magnification was 200× for all panels.
