The synergistic interactions between TNF-α and AVP in the choroid plexus epithelium as assessed by the level of activation of JNK and its target transcription factors c-Jun and ATF2.

<p>The activation of the JNK signaling cascade in the Z310 cell line was assessed after 1-h incubation with either TNF-α (5 ng/ml) or a combination of TNF-α (5 ng/ml) and AVP (1 nM). In non-radioactive JNK activity assays, 200 ng of recombinant (rec) human c-Jun protein was used as a substrate for JNK. The extent of activation of c-Jun and ATF2 was assessed by Western blotting (30 µg of total protein per lane was loaded). The representative immunoblots are shown based on three independent experiments. The ratios of optical density of bands for phosphorylated proteins over the optical density of bands for the total (phosphorylated and non-phosphorylated) proteins are shown.