Figure 3.

Mn activates the NLRP3-CASP1 inflammasome in BV2 cells. BV2 cells were treated with MnCl₂ for 6 h. (A) The BV2 cells were stained for NLRP3 (green staining). The LPS-induced group and untreated group were the positive control and negative control, respectively. Nuclei were stained with Hoechst. Bar: 50 µm. (B) The protein level of NLRP3, CASP1 and cleaved IL1B in the BV2 cells was analyzed by western blot. The relative band intensities were determined by densitometry. (C) Levels of IL1B and IL18 in the BV2 cell culture supernatants were measured by ELISA. Statistical analysis was performed with one-way ANOVA. Data are shown as means ± SE. **P < 0.01 when compared with the negative control group.