Fig. 6.

Activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome does not depend on adherent PAMPs. Wild-type macrophages were primed with uLPS for 4 hours and subsequently treated with a vehicle control (blue triangle), endotoxin-free titanium particles (green squares), or titanium particles with adherent bacterial debris (red circles). IL1β protein was measured in culture supernatants at the indicated time points using ELISA. All values are shown as percent of maximal IL1β secretion in that experiment. N = 3 independent experiments were performed. Each experiment included triplicate cell culture wells per group, each assayed in triplicate. Error bars represent SD. Statistical significance was determined by one-sided analysis of variance. p > 0.5 at all time points when comparing titanium particle with adherent bacterial debris and endotoxin-free titanium particles at each indicated time point. Ti = titanium.