Figure 1.

PA activates NLRP3 inflammasome in primary HSCs and LPS sensitizes HSCs to PA. Primary HSCs (day 2) were exposed to PA (200 µM) with or without LPS (1 µg/mL) for 12 h. (A,B,C,D) Gene expression of NLRP3, IL-1β, caspase 1 and IL-18 were determined by qPCR. (E) IL-1β and NLRP3 protein expression level was determined by western blot and relative expression level was assessed by densitometric analysis; (F) caspase 1 activity was determined. Results are presented as mean ± standard error. *, P<0.05, **, P<0.01 and ***, P<0.001 compared with control (untreated).