Fig. 2

4-OI induces a shift in polarization phenotype of macrophages in vitro. a Schematic illustration for the method utilized for the local administration of 4-OI in a periodontitis model. b The concentration of itaconate in RAW 264.7 analyzed using UPLC-MS assay. c, d Expression of M1 and M2-related genes in RAW 264.7 using qRT-PCR (The M1-related IL-1β, IL-6, CCL2, iNOS, CD86, and the M2-related TGF-β, Arg-1 and CD206). e Micrographs showing staining of iNOS, CD86 and CD206 obtained using confocal laser scanning microscopy. (Nucleus: blue, iNOS and CD86: red, CD206: green. Scale bar = 8 μm). f IL-6 protein concentration of RAW 264.7 tested by ELISA assay. g The cytokine array images of RAW 264.7. Each two adjacent dots represent one kind of cytokine, among which the representative upregulated (up) cytokines of the LPS group compared to the control group and downregulated (down) cytokines of the LPS + 4-OI group compared to the LPS group were marked in different color boxes (red and blue). h The expression profiles of differentially expressed factors in panel g shown as a Radar Chart. All data are presented as the mean ± SD. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, ****P < 0.000 1