Research Paper Volume 14, Issue 22 pp 8970—8981

Figure 4. Suppressing autophagy enhanced inflammatory response and NLRP3 expression. (A) NLRP3 staining results indicated that, 3-MA antagonized the effect of ACP, and NLRP3 expression markedly increased in 3-MA+ACP group, higher than that in ACP group. (B–D) The expression levels of inflammatory factors IL-1β, IL-18 and TNF-α in 3-MA+ACP group were higher than those in ACP group. ^*P<0.05 compared with DMSO, ^#P<0.05 compared with LPS. (E–G) Protein detection demonstrated that 3-MA suppressed autophagy, LC3 expression decreased in 3-MA+ACP group, while NLRP3 and P62 expression increased, and the differences were significant compared with ACP group. Meanwhile, the LC3 II/LC3 I ratio decreased. ^*P<0.05 compared with DMSO, ^#P<0.05 compared with LPS.