Tidal stretch increases the level and activity of integrin-β1 and activates its signaling partner FAK during contraction.

<p>Western blots are shown for integrin-β1 (Int, ∼140 KDa) and its phosphorylated form (ph-Int) (A and B) and for focal adhesion kinase (FAK, ∼125 KDa) and its phosphorylated form (ph-FAK) (C and D) in intact bovine airways after 90 min of mechanical loading with (B and D) or without (A and C) constriction. T0: time 0 before stretch, St: static Ptm. D: dynamic Ptm oscillation. GAPDH (∼35 KDa) is loading control. Data are normalized such that the mean of the dynamic group is unity.