Fig. 2. (  A ) Neutrophil adhesion to alveolar epithelial cell (AEC) monolayers. AECs were exposed to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) with or without 1 μm ropivacaine (ropi) for 4 h. Neutrophils, 1 × 10⁶, were added to each well for 15 min, followed by a stimulation with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate. After 30 min of incubation, nonadherent neutrophils were removed by carefully washing the cells twice with Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium. The number of adherent cells was counted. Values are mean ± SEM from five experiments. (  B ) Neutrophil adhesion to rat pulmonary artery endothelial cell (RPAEC) monolayers. RPAECs were exposed to lipopolysaccharide or PBS with or without 1 μm ropivacaine for 4 h. Neutrophils, 1 × 10⁶, were added to each well for 15 min, followed by a stimulation with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate. After 30 min of incubation, nonadherent neutrophils were removed by carefully washing the cells twice with Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium. The number of adherent cells was counted. Values are mean ± SEM from five experiments.