Fig. 8
NLRP3 S198 is essential for silica-induced DNA damage. a Western blot analysis of γH2AX in cell lysate from A549 NLRP3 KO-cells transfected with WT NLRP3-Flag or mutant (S198A) NLRP3-Flag for 24 h and thereafter treated with silica (5 μg/cm2) for times indicated. b Comet assay analysis of DNA damage in cells from b. c Western blot analysis of γH2AX and pCHK2 in cell lysate from WT NLRP3-Flag or cyclosporine A pretreated cells (CsA, 10 μM, 1 h) and thereafter treated with silica (5 μg/cm2) for times indicated. d Comet assay analysis of DNA damage in cells from c. Bars in a and c show means ± SD. Boxplots in b and d show median with 95% confidence interval. All experiments were performed at least in triplicate. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01 compared to control group, or # p < 0.05, ##p < 0.01 compared to WT NLRP3 cells not exposed to inhibitor, as determined by ANOVA