HIF-1α Is Essential for Effective PMN Bacterial Killing, Antimicrobial Peptide Production and Apoptosis in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Keratitis
Figure 10
In vitro expression of antimicrobial peptides after HIF-1α inhibition and growth factor treatment.
PMN were incubated +/− DMAG treatment (10 µM) for 18 hours, then treated (4 hours) with either VEGF alone (10 and 50 µg/mL), a growth factor (GF) cocktail (HGF, FGF and EGF) or a combination of VEGF+GF cocktail. After challenge with P. aeruginosa (2.5∶1 ratio of bacteria∶cells), antimicrobial protein levels from supernatants were determined by ELISA. mBD2 (A), mBD3 (B) and CRAMP (C) were significantly up-regulated after VEGF treatment alone and following GF cocktail+VEGF treatment. ** P<0.01.