Figure 3.

TNF-α modulation of NPs and NPR-1 may require activation of NF-κB pathway. BEAS-2B cells were treated with 10, 20, and 40 ng/mL TNF-α alone or in combination with NF-κB inhibitor BAY 11-7082 (1 μM), for 24 h. ((a), (b)) ANP, ((c), (d)) BNP, ((e), (f)) NPR-1 gene expression at mRNA ((a), (c), and (e)) and protein level ((b), (d), (f)), and (g) Phospho-IκB-α protein level. Western blots were obtained by using the specific rabbit polyclonal or monoclonal Abs. The blots were stripped of the bound Ab and reprobed with mouse anti-β-actin, to confirm equal loading. Western blots are representative of three separate experiments. All histograms indicate means ± SD of three different cultures each of one tested in quadruplicate and expressed as percentage of control (*P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ****P < 0.0001 versus Controls). (°P < 0.05, °°P < 0.01, and °°°°P < 0.0001 versus BAY). C: Controls (untreated cells).