Figure 6.

Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) activation enhances lipid bodies accumulation induced by treatment of macrophages with tuberculous pleural effusion (TB-PE). (A) Analysis of p705-STAT3, STAT3, and β-actin protein expression level by western Blot (left panel) and quantification (right panel; n = 4) in human monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM) treated with TB-PE for 24 h. Wilcoxon signed rank test: *p < 0.05 (B) MDM were treated or not with TB-PE for 24 h and then were fixed, labeled with Bodipy 493/503 (green), permeabilized, and stained for p705-STAT3 (Red) and DAPI (blue). Representative images are shown. Scale bar, 10 µm. (C) MDM were treated or not with different concentrations of Stattic (STAT3 inhibitor, ST) for 2 h and then exposed or not to TB-PE for 24 h. Lipid bodies’ content was determined by Oil red O (ORO) staining (n = 6). Representative images are shown and the integrated density of ORO staining is shown. Friedman test followed by Dunn’s Multiple Comparison Test: *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01 for TB-PE treated vs Ctl, or as depicted by lines.