Figure 5. AB4 inhibits the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome in vitro. (A-B ) BMDMs were pretreated with AB4 (50, 100, and 200μM) for 4h, and then cultured with LPS (1μg/ml) for 6h. The mRNA expression of related components in NLRP3 inflammasome was analyzed by qPCR (A ). The protein expression of related components in NLRP3 inflammasome was analyzed by Western Blot (B ). Data are presented as mean ± SD. **P < 0.01 vs. Control group;#P < 0.05, ##P < 0.01 vs. LPS group. (C-E ) BMDMs and differentiated THP-1 cells were pretreated with AB4 (50, 100, and 200μM) for 4h, and then cultured with LPS(1μg/ml) for 6h, followed by incubation with ATP (5 mM) for 30min, nigericin (10 μM) for 30min. The protein expressions of NLRP3, Caspase-1, IL-1β, and IL-18 were determined by Western Blot in BMDMs (C ) and THP-1 cells (D ); the production of IL-1β and IL-18 was analyzed by ELISA (E ). Data are presented as mean ± SD. **P <0.01 vs. Control group; #P< 0.05 , ##P <0.01 vs. LPS+ATP or LPS+Nig group.