Hydrogen Sulfide Attenuates High Glucose-Induced Human Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cell Inflammation by Inhibiting ROS Formation and NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation

Figure 5

The knockdown of NLRP3 gene expression ameliorated high glucose-induced proinflammatory cytokine production and inflammasome activation. The gene expression levels of IL-18 and IL-1β and inflammasome markers NLRP3, ASC, and caspase 1 were measured in ARPE-19 cells with either NLRP3-siRNA or scrabbling siRNA transfection in low- and high-glucose culture for 48 hours. (a) NLRP3 mRNA; (b) ASC mRNA; (c) caspase-1 mRNA; (d) IL-18 mRNA; (e) IL-1β mRNA; (f) intracellular IL-18 protein levels; (g) intracellular IL-1β protein levels. Data were presented as the error (SE) of three independent experiments. and , compared between the high-glucose and high-glucose+NLRP3 siRNA groups. There was no statistical significance between the glucose group and the NLRP3 siRNA group (low glucose: 5.5 mM, high glucose: 25 mM).

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