Fig 1: The sera of some IPF patients contains more NEU3 and more desialylated glycoprotein.(A) Top, Western blots of 1:100 diluted serum samples were stained with biotinylated PNA, which binds to desialylated glycoconjugates. Middle, Western blots of 1:100 diluted serum samples were stained with biotinylated SNA, which binds to sialylated glycoconjugates. Bottom, Total serum proteins were stained with Coomassie Blue. Images are representative of three independent experiments. P1-P10 are progressive IPF, S1-S10 are stable IPF, and C1–C8 are controls. (B) Serum NEU3 was measured by ELISA. (C) The PNA-stained bands in (A) were measured by densitometry. (D) The SNA-stained bands in (A) were measured by densitometry. For (B)–(D), each plot symbol is the average of three independent experiments from a patient or control. Lines and error bars represent the mean ± SEM of the averages in the indicated category. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, ****p < 0.0001 (one-way ANOVA, Tukey test).