Colchicine Does Not Reduce Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Growth in a Mouse Model

Figure 5

The effect of oral colchicine on tissue cytokines and inflammatory cell markers related to the NLRP3 inflammasome. (a) Relative caspase-1 activity within the IRA of mice receiving colchicine intervention compared with controls. (b) IL-1β protein concentration within the IRA of mice receiving colchicine intervention compared with controls. Control and colchicine intervention . (c) IL-1β, TNF-α, IFN-γ, and IL-18 RNA expressions within the IRA in mice receiving colchicine compared with controls. Control and colchicine intervention . Fold change indicates the number of folds the RNA expression was increased compared to sham operated mice. (d) Percentage of tissue stained with CD3, CD68, and picrosirius red birefringence (as markers of T cells, macrophages, and collagen, respectively). CD3: control and colchicine intervention ; CD68: control and colchicine intervention ; picrosirius red: control and colchicine intervention . Mice receiving colchicine had significantly lower IRA caspase-1 activity at experimental endpoint (). All data were assessed as normally distributed and were analysed using unpaired two-tailed -tests and presented in box plots. The box indicates the range between 1^st and 3^rd interquartile range. The whiskers indicate the minimum and maximum values. IFN-γ: interferon-γ; IL-1β: interleukin-1β; IRA: infrarenal aorta; RLU: relative luminosity units; TNF-α: tumour necrosis factor-α.

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