Figure 6.

miR-221 regulates the inflammatory response in LPS-treated RAW 264.7 cells through targeting SOCS1. (a) LPS with different doses (0.1, 1, 2 or 10 μg/ml) was used to treat RAW 264.7 cells for 6 h, then cell viability was measured by CCK-8 assay. Data represent the mean ± SD of three independent experiments. *p <  0.05, **p <  0.01 vs. non-treated group. (b) The expression of miR-221 was detected by qRT-PCR. Then, RAW 264.7 cells were co-transfected with miR-221 inhibitor (20 nM) and si-SOCS1, and then treated with LPS (1 μg/ml) for 6 h, followed by the assessment of cell apoptosis and pro-inflammatory cytokines. (c) The apoptosis was determined by flow cytometer. (d-f) IL-1β, TNF-α and IL-6 levels in BALF were measured using commercial ELISA kits. Data represent the mean ± SD of three independent experiments. *p  <  0.05, **p <  0.01 vs. control group. ##p  <  0.01 vs. LPS alone group. && p <  0.01 vs. LPS + miR-221 inhibitor group.