Dysregulated signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 drives intestinal permeability and may contribute to acute-on-chronic liver failure

Figure 2 Successful generation of differential signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 expressing cell lines. Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) expression was modified by generation of differential, stable, lentiviral transduced Caco-2 or T84 cell lines. Reduction of STAT3 (STAT3 -) was produced via short hairpin RNA (shRNA) targeting STAT3. Enhanced STAT3 expression (STAT3 +) was induced by transduction of STAT3 expression plasmids. A non-mammalian shRNA expressing pLKO.1 vector was used as a control. Differential STAT3 expression was validated frequently from the start to the end of the experiments. Total protein was extracted, and proteins of interest were analyzed. A: Western blot; B: Quantified using Fiji (ImageJ distribution; version 2.14.0/1.54f). Values were normalized to Caco-2 or T84 control cell lines. Bars indicate mean ± SD. P values were calculated using one-way analysis of variance and post hoc Tukey analysis (n = 4). ^bP < 0.01. ^dP < 0.0001. STAT3: Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3.