Fig. 4

Macrophages modulate their saturated VLCFA content according to their activation state. A The levels of saturated and mono-unsaturated LCFAs and VLCFAs, as well as PUFAs of human macrophages incubated with LPS for 1, 3, 12 or 24 h were determined by ESI–MS. The heatmap represents mean values of macrophages derived from 5 healthy donors. RT-qPCR analysis of healthy control macrophages incubated with LPS for 1, 3, 12 or 24 h shows gene expression of B acute pro-inflammatory markers (TNFA, IL12B) as well as C enzymes involved in fatty acid synthesis (FASN, FADS2, SCD1, ELOVL1, ELOVL7). Data were normalized to HPRT1 and RACK1 or HPRT1 mRNA levels. D Macrophages derived from X-ALD patients (n = 5–7) and healthy controls (n = 5–7) were incubated with LPS for 24 h. RT-qPCR was carried out to assess expression of pro-inflammatory markers (IL1B, IL12B, IL6, CCL2 and CXCL8) and enzymes involved in fatty acid synthesis (FADS2, SCD1 and ELOVL7). For statistical analysis one-way ANOVA and Fisher’s LSD multiple comparison test were performed in B, C and the Mann–Whitney test was used in D: ***p < 0.001; **p < 0.01; *p < 0.05; ns not significant. Boxplots indicate median ± interquartile range, while whiskers show minimum and maximum. Bar graphs show means ± standard deviations