Figure 2

HPS4-YC infection increased tracheal epithelial barrier permeability. A In vitro model of tracheal epithelial barrier. STEC were cultured in a transwell, GPS4 was added to the upper chamber. B Construction of an in vitro tracheal epithelial barrier model. C HPS4-YC infection decreased the TEER of the epithelial barrier. STEC monolayers were uninfected or infected with HPS4-YC for different times, and TEER was measured. D Measurement of paracellular permeability. The epithelial barrier integrity was analyzed by monitoring FITC-conjugated dextran crossing the transwell chamber. Paracellular permeability is shown relative to the uninfected permeability. E CFU of HPS4-YC across the epithelial barrier model were counted. The results are shown as the mean ± SD of three separate experiments. Significant differences in B and C were determined using the Student t test. ns: not significant; *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.01; ***P < 0.001.