Primary astrocyte cultures were established as described in Methods, and exposed to increasing concentrations of BSA-conjugated palmitic acid (PA) or oleic acid (OA). Release of (A) TNFα, (B) IL-6, and (C) MTT conversion to formazan was measured after 24 h. Data were compiled from 4 separate experiments, and are means and SEM of 20–40 dishes per group. ** and *** indicate significant (p<0.01, and p<0.001, respectively) increases in cytokine release from astrocytes treated with palmitic acid as compared to cells treated with BSA alone.