Fig 1: 7E protected corneal epithelial cells from hyperosmotic stress-induced cell death. HCE-2 cells were subjected to control, 40 mM + mIgG (4 µg/ml), 40 mM + 7E (4 µg/ml), 80 mM + mIgG, and 80 mM + 7E for 8 h. a, b The mRNA transcripts of BAX and BCL-2 were analyzed by real-time PCR with specific primers. GAPDH was used as an internal control. One-way ANOVA, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, and ***p < 0.0001. Data are shown as the mean ± SEM. c CCK-8 assay was applied to analyze the cell viability of HCE-2 cells treated with different groups for 24 h or 48 h. One-way ANOVA, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, and ****p < 0.0001. Data are shown as the mean ± SEM. d Immunocytochemistry staining of BAX and BCL-2 of different groups was analyzed. The reaction was detected by the chromogen AEC (red), and the nuclei were counterstained with hematoxylin (blue). Original magnification: ×200. The experiments in a–d were repeated three times independently with similar results, and the data of one representative experiment was shown. CCK-8 cell counting kit-8