Figure 5.
EGCG suppresses the production of reactive oxygen species and the de novo synthesis of mitochondrial DNA induced by NLRP3 inflammasome activators in primary macrophages. (A–C) Bone marrow-derived primary mouse macrophages were pretreated with an oxidative stress indicator, H2DCFDA (10 μM), for 1 h and further stimulated with monosodium uric acid (MSU) crystals (500 μg/mL), ATP (5 mM), or nigericin (10 μM) for 1 h in the presence or absence of EGCG. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels are presented as a percentage of the control. (D,E) LPS-primed bone marrow-derived primary mouse macrophages were stimulated with MSU crystals (500 μg/mL) for 6 h in the absence or presence of EGCG. The levels of mitochondrial DNA were determined by quantitative PCR. The values represent the means ± SD (n = 3); #, significantly different from vehicle group, p < 0.05; *, significantly different from MSU, ATP, or nigericin alone, p < 0.05.