Fig. 3
From: PM2.5 impairs macrophage functions to exacerbate pneumococcus-induced pulmonary pathogenesis
PM2.5 dampens pneumococcus-induced inflammatory mediators in macrophages. RAW264.7 cells were unexposed or exposed to 20 μg/ml of PM2.5 for 24 h, followed by pneumococcus challenge for 6 h. a iNOS expression levels were determined using western blotting, and (b) the culture supernatant nitrite concentrations were determined using Griess reagent and normalized to cell viability. c HMGB1 expression levels were analyzed using western blotting. Relative protein expression levels were normalized to those in the mock-treated group and are indicated under each band. d Secreted HMGB1 (sHMGB1), (e) IL-1α, (f) IL-1β, and (g) TNF-α production in culture supernatant were determined using ELISA. The values were means ± standard deviations from triplicate independent experiments. Statistical significance was evaluated using Student’s t-test or one-way ANOVA followed by a post-hoc test (*, P < 0.05)