Figure 4.

Reduction of pro-inflammatory molecules and cytokine expression by inhibition of the NF-κB pathway in mIMCD-3 cells. mIMCD-3 cells were incubated with 10 mM NAC, 5 5 µM Bay, and 10 µM Par, which is an NF-κB inhibitor/or BBR (1 µM) for 1 h. Thereafter, cells were exposed to LPS (5 µg/ml) for 3 h (iNOS), 1 h (COX-2, IL-1β and TNF-α), and 24 h (IL-6). mRNA levels of (A) iNOS, (B) COX-2, (C) IL-1β, (D) IL-6 and (E) TNF-α were evaluated by reverse transcription-PCR. Results are expressed as the mean ± SEM of at least three independent experiments. *P<0.05 vs. control; †P<0.05 vs. LPS alone. NF-κB, nuclear factor-κB; mIMCD-3, mouse IMCD-3; NAC, N-acetylcysteine; Bay, Bay11-7082; Par, Parthenolide; BBR, berberine; LPS, lipopolysaccharide; iNOS, inducible nitric oxide synthase; COX-2, cyclooxygenase-2; IL, interleukin; TNF-α, tumor necrosis factor-α.