In evaluating safety of candidate microbicides, there is a need to identify indicators of epithelial damage which may signify increased susceptibility to cervicovaginal infection with STI pathogens.
The main indicators of epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) are downregulation of E-cadherin (cell junction protein), nuclear accumulation of β-catenin (cell junction protein), upregulation of the mesenchymal marker vimentin, and upregulation of transcriptional drivers of EMT such as ZEB1 18, 18. Changes in these markers were assessed using immunohistochemistry and immunoblot.
This indicator of epithelial density did not differ between sham treated ACI and BN rats at any of the time points examined.
Figure 7D (semiparallel section to B and C) shows strong MHC class I expression, an indicator of epithelial cell differentiation (see Figure 2F), and the cuboidal shape of granulosa cells, which accompanies this process.
This was confirmed in isolated pseudoglandular stage (gestation day 14) rat lung explants where inhibition of endogenous mTORC1 activity with rapamycin (0.1 μM) significantly augmented airway epithelial surface folding complexity (ASC, a measure of branching tendency) and promoted epithelial flattening (an indicator of epithelial cell maturation) at fetal P o2 (Fig. 4, A C).
The results were similar when NERD and EE groups were individually compared with BE, which suggests that miRNA expression is a strong indicator of epithelial type in the esophagus and is unlikely to be confounded by the presence of EE in the GERD group.
Expression of periostin is an indicator of epithelial-mesenchymal transition in cancer but a detailed analysis of periostin expression in prostate cancer has not been conducted so far.
Moreover, expression of MUC17, junction marker (E-Cadherin), and alkaline phosphatase, as differentiation indicators of the epithelial cells, was significantly higher and earlier in the cell-laden structure compared to that in the control.
While serum creatinine and urea provide measures of kidney function, increase in Hsp70 [ 29] and in particular NGAL [ 51, 52] are indicators of renal epithelial injury [ 53].
Using immunohistochemistry, lungs of E16.5 and E18.5 wildtype and Creb1−/− mice were analysed for expression of these markers as an indicator of proximal epithelial differentiation.
Guidelines for reporting gastrointestinal biopsies published by the British Society of Gastroenterology in 1997 [ 14] concurred that PCM was an indicator of chronic epithelial cell damage, though it was not included in the data set for IBD reporting as its diagnostic value was unclear.
