LPS and MPLA have differential effects on nuclear transcription. (a) HUVECs were exposed to LPS (100ng/ml) or MPLA (10 μg/ml), both or vehicle control, with CD14 (1 μg/ml) for 16 h. Cellular RNA was transcribed into cDNA copies and amplified using real-time PCR with primers for IL-6 or IFN-β. Data are expressed as means ± SE of a single, replicated experiment after normalization to GAPDH expression (n = 3–4). *P < 0.05 compared with normalized control. (b) HUVECs were exposed to with LPS (100 ng/ml) or MPLA (10 μg/ml) or both or vehicle control, with CD14 (1 μg/ml) for 1, 6 and 16 h. Cellular RNA was transcribed into cDNA copies and amplified using real-time PCR with primer pairs for TLR4. Bar graphs showing the relative abundance of TLR4 expression at the indicated time points (1, 6 and 16 h). Data are expressed as means ± SE of a single, replicated experiment after normalization to GAPDH expression at each time point (n = 3–4 per group). *P < 0.05 compared with normalized control.