Fig. 5.

Flow cytometric analysis of TLR4 surface expression on peripheral monocytes. PBMCs were obtained from normal subjects and UC patients before and after their first LCAP. Cells then were exposed to antibodies against TLR4 and submitted to flow cytometric analysis. (a) Representative histograms of TLR4 surface expression on monocytes in one patient with UC before and after LCAP treatment (iii, iv). Monocytes population was separated by gating using forward scatter and right scatter (i). The expression of CD14 molecules on the gated cell population was > 85% (ii). (b) Quantitative analysis of TLR4 surface expression on monocytes in seven patients with UC and six normal subjects. *P < 0·05. TLR, toll-like receptor; PBMC, peripheral blood mononuclear cell; UC, ulcerative colitis; LCAP, leukocytapheresis; LPS, lipopolysaccharide.