Figure 7
Effect of inhibitors of p38 and CYP1A1 on DEP-induced mRNA expression of genes. Effect of inhibitors of p38 (A-D) and CYP1A1 (E-H) on DEP-induced expression of IL-6 (A, E), IL-8 (B, F), COX-2 (C, G) and CYP1A1 (D, H) mRNA in cultures of human bronchial epithelial BEAS-2B cells. Cells were incubated with the p38 inhibitor (SB202190, 5 μM) or the CYP1A1 inhibitor (α-naphthoflavone, 25 μM) for 1 h, prior to addition of DEPs (0 and 100 μg/ml) for 4 h. Relative quantification of mRNA levels performed by QRT-PCR. Bars represent fold increase in mRNA relative to unexposed cells not treated with inhibitor detected in separate replicate experiments (means ± SEM, n = 4). * p < 0.05 exposed vs. unexposed cells. # p < 0.05 cells not treated with inhibitor vs. cells treated with inhibitor.