PFMCs were cultured without (control) or with lipopolysaccharides (LPS, 1μg/mL) for 8 hrs followed by quantitative RT-PCR. Insulin sensitizing drugs, metformin (activator of the AMP-activated protein kinase, 1mM), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ agonist; pioglitazone (10μM), and rosiglitazone (10μM) were added 1hr before the treatment with LPS. Total RNA was extracted from the cells and subjected to real-time PCR to determine the expression of TGF-β (Fig. 5a) and TNF-α (Fig. 5b). Data were normalized by GAPDH mRNA levels to show the relative abundance. Representative data from five different experiments were shown as the mean ± S.E.M relative to an adjusted value of 1.0 for the mean value of the each control. *: P<0.01 (vs. LPS-treated control).