Fig. 5

Norepinephrine (NE) stimulated IL-6 production in human Kupffer cells (hKCs), and normetanephrine (NMN) inhibited NE-induced IL-6 production. (a) The BrdU cell proliferation assay in LX-2 cells (n = 12 per group). (b) IL-6 production in hKCs exposed to NE (20 nmol·L⁻¹ or 200 nmol·L⁻¹) for 16 h was measured compared with that in the control group (n = 8 per group). (c) IL-6 production in hKCs exposed to NE (20 nmol·L⁻¹) for 16 h was compared with that in the group subjected to a 2-h NMN (200 nmol·L⁻¹) preincubation prior to the 16-h NE (20 nmol·L⁻¹) exposure (n = 8 per group). (d) Liver IL-6 concentration in 1 mg of liver homogenate. db/ +, n = 5. db/db control, n = 6. db/db EMPA, n = 6. The data are presented as the mean ± SEM of independent experiments. The data were analysed using one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s test (a, b, d) and the Student’s t test (c). *p < 0.05, ****p < 0.0001.