Figure 2.

The effect of IFN-γ priming on the corticosteroid response in LPS-stimulated AM. Cells from n= 8 NS (A and D), n= 8 S (B and E) and n= 7 COPD subjects (C and F) were treated with or without IFN-γ (100 ng·mL⁻¹) for 16 h before treatment with varying doses of dexamethasone for 1 h before stimulation with LPS (1 µg·mL⁻¹) for 24 h. Culture supernatants were analysed for TNF-α (A–C) and IL-6 (D–F) levels by elisa. Data presented as mean % inhibition ± SEM of cytokine release by dexamethasone. Intragroup analysis was by repeated measures anova with P < 0.0001 for all results. Bonferroni post-test results for LPS versus LPS + IFN-γ at each dexamethasone concentration are shown: *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; ***P < 0.001.