Figure 7
A: Western blots of signaling proteins in BXPC-3 cells in vitro. Changes in the protein expression of the metalloproteinases MMP-2 and MMP-9 and on the transcription factor EGR-1 exposure to single doses or 7 days of GABA (50 μM) , nicotine (1 μM) or the combination of both agents in BXPC-3 cells in vitro. B: Densitometry data of signaling proteins in BXPC-3 cells treated for 7 days. Quantitative densitometry was conducted from triplicate western blots of BXPC-3 cells after 7 days of treatment. The differences among treatment groups for MMP-2, MMP-9 and EGR-1 were significant (p < 0.0001 by Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA). Nicotine induced the expression of these three proteins while GABA had strong inhibiting effects in the absence and presence of nicotine. ★Significantly ( p < 0.005 by Mann–Whitney test) different from controls. Significantly ( < 0.005 by Mann–Whitney test) different from treatment with nicotine. C: Densitometry data of signaling proteins in BXPC-3 cells after single dose treatments. Quantitative densitometry was conducted from triplicate western blots of BXPC-3 cells after single dose treatments treatment. The differences among treatment groups for MMP-2, MMP-9 and EGR-1 were significant (p < 0.0001 by Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA). Nicotine induced the expression of these three proteins while GABA had strong inhibiting effects in the absence and presence of nicotine. ★Significantly ( p < 0.005 by Mann–Whitney test) different from controls. Significantly ( < 0.005 by Mann–Whitney test) different from treatment with nicotine.