Figure 3

CSE synergises with TNFα (1 ng/ml) in inducing IL-8 release and expression in HASMC. (A) Cells were stimulated with CSE concentrations from 5–30% for 24 hours in the absence and presence of TNFα (1 ng/ml). IL-8 in the cell-free supernatant was measured by ELISA. The results shown are those from 3 replicate measurements from cells obtained from one donor. Similar results were obtained from 2 other donors. *** p < 0.001; ** p < 0.01 compared to cells treated with TNFα only. (B) IL-8 mRNA expression in HASMC exposed to CSE (10%) in the presence and absence of TNFα (1 ng/ml). Cells from 4 different donors were used for the experiments. Data were normalized to GAPDH expression and are expressed as mean ± SEM. * p < 0.05 compared to untreated cells; § p < 0.05 compared to cells treated with TNFα only. (C) HASMC viability in the presence of TNFα (1 ng/ml) alone or in combination with CSE (0–30%) was assessed by using the MTT test. Results are expressed as percentage of cells treated with TNFα only (mean ± SEM, n = 3).