Figure 5

Upstream components of NFκB pathway cannot boost exogenous RelA activity in neurons. Primary neocortical neurons were transfected with a κB-driven firefly luciferase reporter, along with RelA and other key factors in the NFκB pathway. (The dose of RelA plasmid was selected to be intermediate with respect to the maximal level of the assay's dynamic range.) In some conditions, cells were treated with rat TNFα (10 ng/ml) after transfection. Relative luciferase activity from RelA (100 ng) transfection was 111.05 ± 8.9 (mean ± SEM) (not shown). All plasmids were 100 ng/well, except those labeled otherwise. After 24 h, firefly luciferase activities were determined relative to Renilla luciferase reference. Values reflect the mean ± SEM of triplicate cultures. *p < 0.05 (t-test; other significant differences are not labeled).