FIGURE 4.
Reduction in miR-146a expression in LPS tolerized THP-1 cells inversely correlated with TNF-α production. THP-1 cells were cultured with (tolerized) or without (untolerized) 10 ng/ml LPS continuously for 18 h. Cells were then washed twice with PBS and cultured in complete growth medium for an additional 0, 12, or 22 h (LPS withdrawal). At each time point, 8 × 105 cells were challenged with 1000 ng/ml LPS for 5 h prior to analysis of TNF-α protein production in culture supernatant by ELISA (A) and qRT-PCR analysis of total RNA for miR-146a expression (B). Values are expressed as mean ± S.D. from three independent experiments. *, p < 0.01 compared with LPS untreated cells.