Fig. 4. Metabolically activated TG2 null macrophages produce more pro-inflammatory cytokines than their wild type counterparts due to enhanced c-Src signaling.

a c-Src and p-Src levels of wild type and TG2 null metabolically activated BMDMs determined by Western blot analysis using β-actin as reference protein. b Relative gene expression levels of integrin β₃ in gWAT macrophages from wild type and TG2 null mice kept on ND, HSD or HFD at the end of the feeding period determined by qRT-PCR using GAPDH as a reference gene. c–f Relative gene expression levels of integrin β₃, TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 in metabolically activated wild type or TG2 null BMDMs alone or in the presence of 2 μM PP2 or 0.5 mg/ml RGD peptide determined by qRT-PCR using GAPDH as a reference gene. Results are expressed as mean ± SD (n = 8 mice per group, n = 4 for metabolically activated macrophages). Statistical significance was evaluated by two-way ANOVA (*p < 0.05)