Fig. 2

Inflammatory cytokine expression in the cortex following TBI. a–e Relative to the sham group, concentrations of the anti-inflammatory cytokines a TGF-β1 and b IL-10 and pro-inflammatory cytokines c IFN-γ, d IL-1β, and e IL-18 were significantly increased in the region of the contusion at 12, 24, and 48 h after TBI, whereas IFN-γ level barely had changed at 12 h after TBI. Caspase-1^−/−-TBI mice had a less dramatic increase in anti-inflammatory cytokines and pro-inflammatory cytokines than the WT-TBI mice. f mRNA expression of inflammatory cytokines, TLR4, MyD88, and NLRP3, at 24 h post-TBI. TBI induced a marked increase in TLR4, MyD88, and NLRP3 mRNA expression in the injured WT-TBI mice brains relative to the sham group, but caspase-1^−/− only exhibited mild increases. Data are presented as the mean ± SEM. **p < 0.01 and ***p < 0.001, compared to sham group, #p < 0.05 and ###p < 0.001 versus TBI, n = 6/group