Fig. 4

The effect of IL-1β on TGF-β1-induced EMT in asthmatic A549 cells. a Morphological change of A549 cells (magnification × 100). The relative b E-cadherin and c Fibronectin mRNA expression were assessed by means of quantitative real-time PCR. Expression levels were normalized to the housekeeping gene β-actin and calculated over untreated control cells. d Western blot analyses of E-cadherin and Fibronectin in A549 cells. The relative e E-cadherin and f Fibronectin protein expression were assessed by means of western blot. Expression levels were normalized to the housekeeping gene GAPDH and calculated over untreated control cells. The figures b, c illustrate cumulative data from 3 independent experiments. The figures e, f illustrate cumulative data from 5 independent experiments. A549 cells were cultured in the absence (−) or presence (+) of IL-4, TGF-β1, and IL-1β. Error bars represent standard deviation. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001compared with control group. #p < 0.05 compared with TGF-β1 treated group.^p < 0.05 compared with TGF-β1 combined with IL-1β treated group