Fig. 5

The functional mechanism of LE acting on TGF-β1-stimulated NPDFs. A Increasing concentrations of LE (25, 100, 300, and 1000 μg/mL) were used to treat the NPDFs with or without stimulation of TGF-β1 (20 ng/mL) for 24 hours. The expressions of ERK-1/2, p-ERK-1/2, JNK, p-JNK, p38, and p-p38 were measured using western blotting. Western blotting results were analyzed using ImageJ software and corrected with GAPDH. The normalization was performed by dividing the phosphorylated form by the total transcription factors. The relative differences between p-ERK/ERK, p-JNK/JNK, and p-p38/p38 between the two groups were statistically analyzed. B The three patients with NPs in this study received polyp biopsies before and 2 weeks after treatment with LE. The staining ERK-1/2 and p-ERK-1/2 were measured using IHC, and the antibody-stained areas were analyzed using the ImageJ software. Statistical analysis was performed (n = 3). C Under IF staining, confocal laser microscopy was used to examine the immunofluorescent expressions of ERK-1/2 and p-ERK-1 in the NPDFs treated with (1) 20 ng/mL TGF-β1, (2) 500 μg/mL LE, and (3) 20 ng/mL TGF-β1 and 500 μg/mL LE for 24 hours (green fluorescent area indicated by the white arrows)