Figure 3. Impact of a combination of anti-inflammatory agents on gene expression in stimulated human neutrophils.

Cells were pretreated with CGS 21680 (1 µM), PGE₂ (10 µM), RO-20-1724 (10 µM) and forskolin (50 µM) simultaneously, then stimulated as described in Materials and Methods for 30 min at 37°C, or for 2 h where indicated (^λ). Top panels show genes that are up-regulated by the anti-inflammatory treatments and bottom ones show genes that are down-regulated. The dotted line indicates the level of expression observed in un-stimulated cells ( = 1). Values are ratios of mRNA levels (treated cells/un-stimulated cells) as determined by real-time PCR, averaged±SEM for three independent experiments performed under identical conditions with a different single donor of cells. *Significantly higher than in un-stimulated samples. **Significantly higher than in un-stimulated samples and in samples stimulated in the absence of anti-inflammatory agent. “#” Significantly higher than in un-stimulated samples but significantly lower than in samples stimulated in the absence of anti-inflammatory agent.