Fig. 1
Silica induces rapid NLRP3 activation without increased mtROS production. a, b Western blot analysis of NLRP3, caspase-1, IL-1β of cell lysate (a) or supernatant (b) from 16HBE cells treated with silica (5 μg/cm2) for times indicated. c Representative confocal images showing co-localization of NLRP3 (green) and ASC (red) in 16HBE cells treated with silica. d Mitochondrial ROS in silica-exposed 16HBE cells. Concentrations and times indicated. e Mitochondrial membrane potential measurements using JC-1 staining in silica-treated (5 μg/cm2) 16HBE cells. The ratio of green to red fluorescence was used for assessing the mitochondrial membrane potential and depolarization ratio. Bars show means ± SD. All experiments were performed at least in triplicate. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001 versus control as determined by ANOVA