FIGURE 1.

LPS synergizes with palmitate to increase ceramide in macrophages. A, peritoneal macrophages (pMACs) were incubated for 16 h with the indicated concentrations of palmitate (Palm) (or with BSA as control) alone or in combination with 50 ng/ml of LPS (or with PBS as control). C16 ceramide concentrations were determined by LC-MS/MS and normalized per μg DNA. B, pMACs were stimulated with 500 μm palm ± LPS for the indicated time points, and C16 ceramide was quantified by LC-MS/MS. Bar graphs report the means ± S.E. (S.E.) for a minimum of three experiments, each performed in triplicate. *, p < 0.05 for LPS versus PBS; #, p < 0.05 for palm versus BSA. n.s., not significant.