Distribution of Major Basic Protein on Human Airway following In Vitro Eosinophil Incubation
Figure 8
Immunolocalization of MBP in human airway following exogenous application of MBP or following incubation with eosinophils. Separate images showing smooth actin and MBP were examined. (a) shows MBP distribution (red), (b) image shows smooth muscle actin (green), and (c) image shows putting the two images together in binarized colabed images. Using the Metamorph system, the two pictures were analyzed to find areas measured in pixels. Exposure of 1 min (solid) or 1 h (light gray) as to higher concentrations of MBP allowed more MBP to access smooth muscle area compared to lower concentrations no significance was found by percentage smooth muscle with MBP in smooth muscle area. For same concentrations, longer exposure, 1 h compared to shorter exposure, 1 min, increased the percentage of smooth muscle colocalized with MBP. Additionally, substantial MBP (23.8% ± 4.9) was found in the ASM layer following overnight incubation (black) with human eosinophils ( determinations from 9 patients for each concentration and time).
