*2.4. Western Blotting*

Western blotting was performed as previously described [30]. Mouse lung tissues were homogenized in buffer containing 150 mM NaCl, 1 mM EDTA, 1 mM EGTA, 0.5% sodium deoxycholate, 1% Triton X-100, 100 mM Tris-HCl (pH 7.4), and proteinase inhibitor cocktail. Lysate proteins were separated by running 10% sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, then transferred onto polyvinylidene fluoride membranes. The membranes were then blocked for 1 h in TBS-T containing 5% nonfat dry milk, then incubated with primary antibodies for 1 h at room temperature (RT). After the membranes were washed for 1 h, they were incubated with horseradish peroxidase-conjugated secondary antibodies for 1 h and then washed for 1 h. Then, the bands were detected by enhanced chemiluminescence (Amersham Biosciences, Buckingham, UK).
