Figure 1.

Cadmium promotes the persistence of the pro-inflammatory macrophage phenotype. THP-1 macrophages were exposed to vehicle or CdCl₂ (50 μm, 3 h). A, TNFα; B, iNOS; C, arginase 1; D, TGF-β1; E, IL-10; and F, PDGF-B mRNA expression (n = 9). THP-1 cells were treated with vehicle or CdCl₂ for the indicated times. G, TNFα; H, iNOS; I, arginase 1; J, TGF-β1; K, IL-10; and L, PDGF-B mRNA expression (n = 3). THP-1 cells were exposed to vehicle, CdCl₂ (50 μm), IL-4 (20 ng/ml, negative control), or LPS (100 μg/ml, positive control) for 3 h. M, TNFα; N, iNOS; O, arginase 1; and P, TGF-β1 promoter activity were measured by luciferase assay (n = 6). **, p < 0.001; ***, p < 0.0001. Values are shown as mean ± S.D.