Figure 3.

The effect of berberine (BBR), rosuvastatin, and combination of BBR and rosuvastatin on THP‐1‐derived macrophage activation induced by oxidized low‐density lipoprotein (ox‐LDL). THP‐1‐derived macrophages were pretreated with phosphate‐buffered saline (PBS), BBR (25 μM), rosuvastatin (25 μM), and combination of BBR (25 μM) and rosuvastatin (25 μM) for 1 hr and then stimulated 24 hr by 100 μg/ml ox‐LDL. (a) The lipid accumulation was assessed by oil red O stain. (b) IL‐6, TNF‐α, and IL‐1β expression in macrophages was evaluated by real‐time PCR. (c, d) CD11b and CD86 expression on macrophages was measured by flow cytometry. Data are represented as mean ± SD. n ≥ 3. ^* p < 0.05, ^** p < 0.01, and ^*** p < 0.001 versus ox‐LDL group; #p < 0.05 versus PBS group. Scale bar = 100 μm [Colour figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]