Fig. 5

Effects of BHT on TNF-α and IL-1β production by human U937 macrophage cells. Fold change of TNF-α (a, c, e) and IL-1β (b, d, f) production relative to control in the supernatant of human U937 macrophages measured by ELISA. a, b Cells were treated with none or varying concentrations of butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) for 18 h. c-f Cells were pre-incubated for 6 h with none, 50 μg/mL or 100 μg/mL MCC950 (c, d), or with 200 μg/mL or 300 μg/mL sulfasalazine (e, f), followed by stimulation with 2 μg/mL of BHT for 18 h. The concentrations of MCC950 and sulfasalazine used were non-toxic to the cells. Cytokine production by cells not treated with compound (ie. none) was taken as 1. The data are presented as mean fold change ± SD of three independent experiments performed in duplicates. *p < 0.05