Fig. 5
From: Mesenchymal stem cells stabilize the blood–brain barrier through regulation of astrocytes
MSCs modulate VEGF-A-regulated tight junction protein expression in bEnd.3 cells. Western blots revealed that VEGF-A treatment significantly increased eNOS expression and decreased CLN-5 expression in bEnd.3 cells; however, the expressions of these proteins were reverted to control levels after MSC treatment a (n = 3). *p <0.05, **p <0.01. Immunocytochemical analysis showed that MSC treatment attenuated VEGF-A-induced increases in eNOS immunoreactivity and downregulation of CLN-5 immunoreactivity b, c. Scale bar: 20 μm. In addition, the number of detected EBA-expressing cells was significantly increased in MSC-treated cells relative to those treated only with VEGF-A d, e (n = 3). ***p <0.001. Scale bar: 100 μm. CLN-5 claudin-5, DAPI 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole, EBA endothelial-barrier antigen, eNOS endothelial nitric oxide synthase, LPS lipopolysaccharide, MSC mesenchymal stem cell, VEGF vascular endothelial growth factor