Figure 5.

NLRP3 inflammasome signaling inactivation was involved in EA-mediated anti-inflammatory properties. BV-2 cells were treated with NLRP3 siRNA (40 nM). After 6 h of transfection, the transfection solution was removed and cells were rinsed with PBS. The silencing efficiency was assessed via NLRP3 protein expression detection (a). Moreover, BV-2 cells were treated with EA (1 μM) in the presence of NLRP3 siRNA and then exposed to LPS for 24 h. The protein expressions of Iba-1, NLRP3, caspase-1, and pro-caspase-1 in BV-2 cells were detected via western blot assay (b). The levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-18 in the culture medium were measured by ELISA (c). Data were the mean ± SEM from three independent experiments performed in triplicate. ^∗p < 0.05 compared with control cultures; ^#p < 0.05 compared with LPS-treated cultures.