Fig. 3.

Effects of recombinant human ZPI (rhZPI) on the secretion of IL-6 and TNF-α in whole blood activated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Cytokines were quantified after a 20-hour ( A, B ) or 4-hour ( C, D ) incubation. In the latter case, rhZPI was added at 250 nM. rhZPI was added 30 min before the addition of LPS (10 ng/mL). Results are expressed as percentages of IL-6 or TNF-α production in the absence of rhZPI (controls) which were considered arbitrarily as 100%. Results (mean ± 1 SEM) are the average of 3 ( A, B ) or 4 ( C, D ) independent experiments in triplicate. ^* p  < 0.05, ^** p  < 0.01, ^*** p  < 0.001 as compared to the production of cytokines in the presence of LPS alone [Dunnett’s multiple comparisons test following one-way ANOVA ( A, B ) or Student’s t -test ( C, D )].