Progressive Proximal-to-Distal Reduction in Expression of the Tight Junction Complex in Colonic Epithelium of Virally-Suppressed HIV+ Individuals
Figure 5
Tight junctional transcript levels in HIV+ individuals decrease progressively from proximal-to-distal colon.
Total RNA was isolated from biopsies obtained from the terminal ileum, as well as the ascending, transverse, and descending colon, of HIV+ individuals (red square) and healthy controls (blue circle). CNRQ of (A) ZO-1, (B) occludin, (C) claudin-2, and (D) claudin-4 transcripts were compared at each location. The Kruskal-Wallis test, a non-parametric version of the one-way ANOVA, was performed, with p-values for the HIV+ (HIV) and control (HC) cohorts shown in the top left of each panel, after which r2 and p-value were determined when appropriate using a post-test for linear trend for each transcript across location in the two cohorts separately. Linear regression is shown as a representation (For HIV+ n = 9 at all colonic locations and n = 10 at the terminal ileum; for healthy controls n = 8 for terminal ileum, n = 7 for ascending colon, and n = 9 at transverse and descending colon; # p<0.08, * p≤0.05, and ** p<0.01 between HIV+ and healthy controls).