Figure 5

Heme stimulates microglia activation and induces brain inflammatory injury via TLR4. (A) Stimulation with bilirubin, Hemin and FeSO₄ influenced TLR4 expression on cultured microglial cells. **P < 0.01 vs. control group (n = 6) (B) TNF-α release in microglial cells in response to stimulus. **, ^## P < 0.01 vs. control group, ^$$ P < 0.01 vs. LPS group (n = 6). (C) TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 expression in microglial cells in response to stimulus. **P < 0.01 vs. control group, ^{##, $$} P < 0.01 vs. WT group, n = 6. Hemin treatment decreased brain water content (D) and NDS (D) in TLR4^−/− mice. **P < 0.01 vs. control group, ^## P < 0.01 vs. WT group n = 6. (E) Hemin treatment increased cytokines release in TLR4^−/− mice. **P < 0.01 vs. control group, ^## P < 0.01 vs. WT group n = 6. Values (mean ± SD) are representative of two independent experiments.