Effect of arginine on cell number and tight epithelium.

<p>Mycoplasma-infected MDCK wild type (wt) cells were cultivated in arginine-free DMEM supplemented with 45 or 720 µM arginine for the indicated times. A: Cell number was estimated based on DAPI-staining followed by Image J analysis as described in Materials and Methods. B: Trans-epithelial electrical resistance (TEER) was measured every 24 h using EVOHM device. Data in panels A and B are represented as mean ± SEM (n = 3). Groups were compared by two-way ANOVA followed by Bonferroni post-test; *** p≤0.001, ** p≤0.01, * = p≤0.05. C: Immunofluorescence analysis of representative wt MDCK cells with antibodies raised against the tight junction protein ZO-1. Scale bar is 10 µm and applies to all panels.