Fig. 6

BF exposure increases the expression of pro-inflammatory markers in primary microglia cells. Microglial cells were exposed to different concentrations of BF (1–20 μM) for 24 h. Gene expression of TNF-alpha (a), IL-6 (b), COX-2 (c), and mPGES-1 (d) was analyzed by real-time quantitative PCR. GAPDH was used as an internal control for normalization, and data were quantified by using the comparative cycle threshold Ct method. Similarly, cells were treated with BF and thereafter incubated with or without LPS (100 ng/mL) as a positive control (black column) for 24 h. Whole cell lysates were subjected to Western blot for COX-2 (e, f), mPGES-1 (g, h), and beta-actin. To confirm equal sample loading, beta-actin was used for normalization. Data are presented as percentage control of DMSO. Statistical analyses were carried out by using one-way ANOVA followed by post hoc Student–Newman–Keuls test. Results are expressed as means ± SEM of three independent experiments. *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; **p < 0.001 compared with control (DMSO, white column)