Figure 5. Effect of berberine on HIV PI-induced TNF-α and IL-6 mRNA stability in macrophages.

Mouse J774A.1 cells were pretreated with berberine (BBR, 0.5 µg/ml) for 1 h, then treated with lopinavir (LOPV, 15 µM) or vehicle control (DMSO) for 4 h before addition of actinomycin D (5.0 µg/ml)(time 0). Total cellular RNA was extracted at 0, 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 h after actinomycin D addition. TNF-α (A) and IL-6 (B) mRNA levels were determined by real-time RT-PCR as described in “Methods”. Values are mean ± SD of three independent experiments.