Figure 1

Recombinant hPCSK9 induces the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines in THP-1 derived macrophages. THP-1 macrophages were incubated for 24 h with TNF-α 10 ng/ml (as positive control) or different concentrations of recombinant hPCSK9 (0.25, 0.5, 1 and 2.5 μg/ml). At the end of the incubation, total RNA was extracted and (A) IL-1β, (B) TNF-α, (C) IL-6, (D) MCP-1 and (E) CXCL2 mRNA expression was determined by qRT-PCR. (F) THP-1 macrophages were incubated with TNF-α 10 ng/ml (as positive control) and recombinant hPCSK9 (2.5 μg/ml). After 24 h cells were fixed and immunostaining was performed for NF-κB p65 (blue: nuclei; green: p65 NF-κB). Arrows indicate cells with positive nuclear staining of p65. Data are given as mean ± SD of three independent experiments. Differences vs basal were assessed by Student’s t-test: *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001.