Cytokine response from valvular interstitial cells (VICs) and primary macrophages upon in vitro stimulation with TLR7 ligand. VICs were isolated from four aortic valves derived from patients with aortic valve stenosis. Primary human macrophages were derived from monocytes isolated from blood from four healthy donors. IL-10, TNF-α, and IL-8 were measured in the culture medium after 20-h stimulation of VICs and primary macrophages, respectively, with 12.5 µg/mL IMQ. LPS was used as a positive control for VICs. (a) No significant change in IL-10 secretion was observed in VICs after IMQ stimulation. (b) TNF-α was below the detection level in VICs supernatant. (c) Significant increase of IL-8 upon stimulation with IMQ and LPS, respectively. 1-way ANOVA with Holm-Sidak post-hoc test, ** p < 0.01. (d) Increased IL-10 secretion by primary macrophages upon TLR7 activation. (e) No significant change in TNF-α secretion was observed in primary macrophages after IMQ stimulation. (f) Significant increase of IL-8 upon stimulation of primary macrophages with IMQ. Student´s paired t-test, * p < 0.05, *** p < 0.001. Data presented as mean ± SEM.