Figure 3.

Ex vivo stimulation of human aortic valve tissue with the TLR7 agonist IMQ alters cytokine secretion. Human stenotic aortic valve tissue was stimulated ex vivo with the TLR7 ligand imiquimod (IMQ; 12.5 µg/mL). Levels of (a) IL-10, (b) TNF-α, and (c) GMCSF were significantly increased in the culture medium after 20 h. The effects of IMQ were significantly attenuated by the TLR7 antagonist ODN 20958 (5 µM). Data are presented as mean ± SEM. 1-way RM ANOVA with Holm-Sidak post-hoc test, * p < 0.05.