Figure 10

ROS generation and NF-κB, JNK and p38 activation by SiO ₂ particles in HUVECs and THP-1 cells in mono- and co-cultures. A, B): ROS generation by SiO₂ particles in HUVECs and THP-1 cells in mono- and co-cultures. C, D): The activation of NF-κB by SiO₂ particles in HUVECs and THP-1 cells in mono- and co-cultures. NF-κB DNA-binding activity was assayed by the electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) as described in the Methods section. The detection of band specificity of NF-κB activation was measured with unlabeled oligo-, cold and mutated NF-κB oligonucleotides. E, F): The relative density of the bands from EMSA by gray value analysis. G, H): The activation of JNK and p38 by SiO₂ particles in HUVECs and THP-1 cells in mono- and co-cultures. Aliquots of the cell lysates were separated by SDS-PAGE and analyzed for protein expression by Western blotting, as described in the Methods section. β-actin was used as an internal control to monitor for equal loading. Data represent the means ± SEM; n = 3. #p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, a significant difference between compared groups. (c: control, SiNPs: SiO₂ particles, EC: endothelial cells, T: THP-1 cells).