Figure 3. Growth and cytokine profile following L. monocytogenes infection in murine macrophages after simvastatin treatment.
(A) Murine BMDM and (B) RAW264.7 murine macrophage cell line were pretreated with the indicated concentrations of simvastatin, followed by L. monocytogenes infection (MOI=10). Bacterial growth was measured at 6 and 12 hours post-infection. (C) Macrophages were analyzed for statin-mediated cytotoxicity using MTT assay. Following simvastatin treatment and IFN-γ stimulation, macrophages were infected for 12 hours and supernatants were analyzed for the production of (D) IL-12p40, (E) TNF-α, (F) IL-6 and (G) nitric oxide. Results are shown as mean ± SEM of triplicate cultures and are representative of two independent experiments, * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01 versus control.