AMPK inhibitor, Compound C, abolishes the lymphocyte-facilitation of tight junction assembly.

<p>(a) Representative pictures of ZO-1 relocation to cell–cell junctions in MDCK cells cultured alone and co-cultured with lymphocytes, with or without the AMPK inhibitor, Compound C, (A. MDCK; B. Co-culture; C. Co-culture+Compound C; D. Co-culture+DMSO) at various time points (0h, 0.5h, 1h, 2h) after calcium switch. (Scale bar: 30 µm). (b) Quantification of ZO-1 relocation to cell–cell junctions (length of ZO-1/cell (µm)) in MDCK cells cultured alone and co-cultured with lymphocytes, with or without AMPK inhibitor, Compound C, at various time points (0h, 0.5h, 1h, 2h) after calcium switch. The asterisks denote significant differences detected in (C) Co-culture+Compound C vs. (D) Co-culture+DMSO by Student's <i>t</i> test (*, p<0.05; **, p<0.01).