FIG. 2.

Effect of Helicobacter pylori on NF-κB signaling pathway in macrophages. (A) J774A.1 cells were cultured with heat-killed H. pylori cells for 24 h. IL-6 production levels were analyzed by ELISA. (B) Cells were treated as described above, and TNF-α production was analyzed by ELISA. The results shown in panels A and B are the means ± SEM. **, P < 0.05 by Student's t test. (C) J774A.1 cells were incubated with heat-killed H. pylori cells. Cell lysates were prepared at the indicated times, and the levels of phospho-IκBα, IκBα, phospho-JNK, JNK, phospho-p38, p38, phospho-ERK, and ERK were measured by Western blotting. (D) Mongolian gerbils were inoculated with H. pylori, and their stomachs were removed, fixed, and sectioned 12 weeks later. Serial sections were immunostained with phospho-IκBα (left and middle panels) and F4/80 (right panel). Original magnification, ×100.