Figure 2
From: Silica induces NLRP3 inflammasome activation in human lung epithelial cells
Crystalline silica increases NLRP3 mRNA levels and caspase-1 cleavage products in BEAS-2B cells. A. Bar chart represents relative quantity of NLRP3 mRNA levels after 24 h exposure to 75 × 106μm2/cm2 (SIL75) and 150 × 106μm2/cm2 (SIL150) of cristobalite silica in BEAS-2B cells. *p-value <0.05 compared to UC. B. Caspase-1 enzymatic activity was assayed in cell lysates of BEAS-2B cells exposed to the indicated silica concentrations for 24 h. Glass beads (GB) and unexposed cells (UC) were included as controls. Caspase-1 activities are expressed as arbitrary units (O.D. 405 nm/μg total protein) with *p-value <0.05 compared to UC.