Fig. 2

The induced expression of NLRP3, ASC and caspase-1 is increased in Behçet’s disease (BD). PBMCs were initially stimulated for 4 h with LPS (100 ng/ml). After 4 h, ATP (1 mM) was added to the cells for another 15 min (LPS/ATP). a Representative western blot analysis and quantitation of NLRP3, ASC and caspase-1 from cell lysates of stimulated PBMCs. β-actin was used as loading control. (lane 1,4,7: no treatment, lane 2,5,8: LPS, lane 3,6,9: LPS/ATP) (n = 5 per group). b The mRNA expression of NLRP3, ASC and caspase-1 was measured by real time quantitative RT-PCR and normalized against the expression levels of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate-dehydrogenase. The relative values are shown as a fold change to HC with no treatment (n = 8 per group). Data are represented as mean ± S.D. (*p < 0.05), (−) no treatment. NLRP3: NACHT, LRR, and PYD domains-containing protein 3; PBMCs: peripheral blood mononuclear cells; LPS: lipopolysaccharide; ATP: adenosine 5-triphosphate; HC: healthy volunteers