Colquhounia Root Tablet Protects Rat Pulmonary Microvascular Endothelial Cells against TNF--Induced Injury by Upregulating the Expression of Tight Junction Proteins Claudin-5 and ZO-1

Figure 4

Analysis of the localization of tight junction proteins ZO-1 (a) and Claudin-5 (b) in normal rat PMECs by immunofluorescence assay. Normal rat PMECs were subjected to DAPI and immunofluorescence staining. Cells were observed under a confocal microscope. Arrows indicate the linear fluorescence of Claudin-5 and ZO-1 along the endothelial cell membrane, suggesting that both proteins are localized at the edge of endothelial cells. Abundant diffused fluorescence was also detected among the cells, suggesting that both proteins coordinately form the intracellular tight junction structure.