HUCL cell were incubated with inhibitors of MAPKs-mediated signal pathways for 30 min prior to the addition of SpA and the induced secretion of IL-8 after 4 h was assessed by IL-8 cytokine ELISA. The inhibitors used include the NF-κB inhibitor isohelenin (IS, 25 μM) and three MAP kinase pathways, SB (p38 MAP kinase inhibitor, 5 μM); SP (JNK inhibitor, 25 μM) and U0126 (ERK inhibitor, 10 μM). Anti-TLR2 antibody (20 μg/ml) was used to block the TLR2 pathway. The data is representative of three individual experiments.