Fig. 4

Cultured primary human astrocytes constitutively express NK-1R, and expression of this receptor is increased following bacterial challenge. Panel a Primary human astrocytes were untreated (0) or exposed to LPS (5 or 10 ng/mL) for 12 h, and the level of fNK-1R protein expression was determined by immunoblot analysis. Data is shown as protein levels, normalized to β-actin expression, relative to NK-1R expression in untreated cells. Panels b and c Cells were untreated (0) or exposed to N. meningiditis (Nm: MOI of 10:1 bacteria to human cells), Streptococcus pneumoniae (Stp: MOI 10:1), Staphylococcus aureus (Sa: MOI 100:1), or polyI:C (pIC), for 12 h, and the level of fNK-1R protein expression was determined by immunoblot analysis. A representative blot is shown and data is presented as protein levels, normalized to β-actin expression, relative to NK-1R expression in untreated cells (n = 4). Panel d Cells were untreated (0) or exposed to LPS (5 or 10 ng/mL) or polyI:C (100 or 200 ng/mL), and cell surface NK-1R expression was determined at 2 h by flow cytometry. Data is shown relative to cell surface NK-1R expression on untreated cells (n = 3). Data is expressed as the mean ± SEM and asterisks indicate statistically significant differences between untreated and treated cells (p < 0.05)