FIG 1.

Blastocystis treatment upregulates proinflammatory cytokines in mouse intestinal explants and BMDMs. (A) Murine intestinal explants were isolated from C57/BL6 mice and treated with Blastocystis ST-7 (B) lysate. The culture supernatants were tested using ELISA for protein concentrations of proinflammatory cytokines, IL-1β and TNF-α. (B) Mouse BMDMs were generated and treated with either Blastocystis ST-4 (WR-1) or ST-7 (B) at MOIs of 20 and 10, respectively. The mRNA levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and GAPDH were also measured by qRT-PCR. (C) The concentrations of IL-6, TNF-α, and IL-1β in the culture supernatants of BMDMs were measured by ELISA. Each value represents the mean and standard deviation from at least 3 individual experiments. *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.01; ***, P < 0.005 (representing a statistically significant difference compared to the negative control). ###, P < 0.005 (representing a statistically significant difference between Blastocystis ST-4 and ST-7).