Fig. 4From: Dual action of highbush blueberry proanthocyanidins on Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans and the host inflammatory responseEffect of A. actinomycetemcomitans in the absence and presence of highbush blueberry PACs on the integrity of the oral keratinocyte tight junction. Panel a: Effects of time and the number of A. actinomycetemcomitans cells on the transepithelial electrical resistance (TER) of oral keratinocytes. Panel b: Inhibitory effect of highbush blueberry PACs on the A. actinomycetemcomitans-induced decrease in the TER of oral keratinocytes. Panel c: Immunofluorescence staining of tight junction proteins occludin and zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) of oral keratinocytes infected (24 h) by A. actinomycetemcomitans in the absence and presence of blueberry PACs. A 100% value was assigned to the TER at time 0. Results are expressed as the mean ± SD of triplicate assays. Φ: significant increase (p < 0.001) compared with unstimulated control cells (a) or with A. actinomycetemcomitans-stimulated cells not treated with highbush blueberry PACs (B). ∗: significant decrease (p < 0.001) compared with unstimulated control cellsBack to article page