Figure 7 | Scientific Reports

Figure 7

From: Alpha-tocopherol exerts protective function against the mucotoxicity of particulate matter in amphibian and human goblet cells

Figure 7

Particulate matter induced the accumulation of mucus vesicles in human Calu-3 goblet cells. (A) PM treatment induced the accumulation of WGA positive mucus vesicles in Calu-3 cells. Mucus vesicles were stained with WGA-Alexa 488. Scale bar = 10 μm. (B) PM treatment induced the accumulation of MUC5AC positive mucus vesicles in Calu-3 cells. MUC5AC vesicles were stained with an anti-MUC5AC antibody. Consistent with the amphibian mucociliary epithelium, pretreatment with α-tocopherol significantly reduced the accumulation of mucus vesicles induced by PM in Calu-3 cells. Scale bar = 10 μm. (C,D) Quantification of WGA and MUC5AC positive vesicles from (A) and (B), respectively. Statistical analysis was performed using one-way ANOVA. For (C), from left to right, n = 6, 4, 6, 8, 8. For (D), n = 6, 5, 7, 4, 5. Asterisks represent ***(p < 0.001), **(0.001 < p < 0.01), *(0.01 < p < 0.05), ns (0.05 < p). PM, particulate matter.

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