Figure 6.

Mouse alveolar macrophages and human THP-1 macrophages are more responsive to inflammatory stimuli when Ces1d and CES1 expression are ablated. (A) Alveolar macrophages from WT and Ces1d^−/− mice (male and female) were isolated and pooled to obtain enough cells, which were then treated with LPS. The levels of PGE₂, the most abundant prostaglandin in lung tissues, were determined in culture supernatants and normalized on cell protein content, left. The extent of murine Il6 and Tnfa mRNA expression was also determined, right. (B) Human THP-1 macrophages with ablated CES1 expression were treated with either LPS (left) or TNFα/IFNγ (right), and their inflammatory responses were compared to control THP-1 macrophages (no CES1 knockdown). The expression levels of human IL1b, IL6, TNFa, and CCL3 (MIP-1α) mRNA are shown. Data are expressed as mean ± SD (n = 3–4 replicate wells), and the results are representative of two independent experiments (alveolar macrophages) or three independent experiments (THP-1 macrophages). Two-way ANOVA assessed significant differences between groups. #p < 0.05, ##p < 0.01, ###p < 0.001, **p < 0.01, and ***p < 0.001; comparisons are indicated. In panel B, ***p < 0.001 for TNFα/IFNγ treatment vs corresponding untreated controls.