Fig. 3.

Baicalein antagonizes the LPS-induced inflammatory factors in PDLCs. Cells were pretreated with baicalein (20, 40, or 80 μM) for 2 h prior to incubation with LPS for 24 h. The mRNA expressions were analyzed by qRT-PCR (a) and the protein concentrations in the supernatant were evaluated by ELISA (b). The results showed that 40 and 80 μM of baicalein significantly reduced the mRNA and cytokine concentrations of IL-1β, TNF-α, MCP-1, MMP-1 and MMP-2. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, statistical significant difference in comparison to cells treated with LPS alone